|
Family:
Cactaceae (Cactus
Family)
Scientific name: Mammillaria
crucigera
First description by Martius, Nova Acta Acad. Caes.
Leop. Carol. German Nat. Cur. 16: 340, t. 27 (1832)
Origin: Endemic to a small region in Central Mexico
(at the border of the states of Puebla and Oaxaca)
Habitat: Grows on cliff edges
clinging in clefts and crevasses in the rock often in mostly pure
gypsum. Altitude 800 to 950 m.
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Synonyms:
- Cactus crucigerus (Mart.) Kuntze
in: Rev.Gen. Pl. 1:260. 18911891
- Mammillaria discolor var. curvispina
- Mammillaria crucigera var. grandinosa Linzen, Rogoz
& Frank Wolf 1998
- Mammillaria crucigera subsp. tlalocii
(Reppenhagen) D. R. Hunt 1997
- Mammillaria crucigera var. tlalocii (Repp.) Linzen,
Rogoz & Frank Wolf 1998
- Mammillaria tlalocii Reppenhagen
1989
Published in: Gattung Mammillaria 1988: 120 (1989)
- Mammillaria curvispina
- Cactus curvispinus
- Mammillaria buchenaui Backeberg ex Mottram 1980
- Mammillaria falsicrucigera Backeberg 1962
|
Description: Globular very slow
growing cactus with small spines, solitary or clumping almost always
forking dichotomously at maturity.
Stems: Heads flattened globose to short cylindrical,
curving pipe-shaped,, up to 10 cm tall and 4 - 6 cm in diameter,
ranging from olive green to grey-green to almost brown to almost purple.
Tubercles: Closely set, firm, not sharply angled, keeled with
their axils full of white wool, Some latex is present in the growing
season.
Areole: Reddish-brown.
Radial spine: 22 - 30, finely needle-like or bristly,
glassy white, to 2 mm long.
Central spine: 4 (-5), yellowish or brown, rigid, to 2 mm long.
Flower: Small , funnelform,up to 1.2 cm, deep pink, rarely rising
above the spines.
Blooming season: Flowers in late winter, early spring.
Fruit: Pink to red.
Seed: Small, brown.
Subspecies:
M. crucigera ssp crucigera divides dichotomously and also
offsets lower on the plant body.
M. crucigera ssp tlalocii forms simple columns (usually)
without dividing or offsetting.
|
|
Cultivation: It is an extremely slow growing species
(hence the rarity and high prices in the trade).
Use pot with good drainage and a very porous
mineral-based potting mix, keep dry in
winter. Pot plants are quite
wet-sensitively. Care must be taken with watering (Rot prone)
and needs good
drainage. Water sparingly
during the
growing season, keep very dry in
winter. Feed
with a high potassium fertilizer in summer.
Usually it is recommended to
overwinter this plant in a bright and warm greenhouse with at least
8-10° C , but it proved to be quite
frost resistant
(if kept dry it hardy as low as -5° C)Outside
full sun or afternoon shade, inside needs bright light, and some direct
sun.
Some plants will offset readily, and clumps can be produced in a very
few years.
Propagation: Direct sow after
last frost,
cuttings or
grafting.
Photo
of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Mammillaria
crucigera
complex
(This
Taxon has lots of synonyms whit
several controversial varieties and subspecies):
|
|