Mammillaria sphaerica

A. Dietrich

Allg. Gartenzeitung. 21: 94. 1853.

Common names: Longmamma nipple cactus
Synonyms: Dolichothele sphaerica (A. Dietrich) Britton & Rose Mammillaria longimamma var. sphaerica (A. Dietrich) K. Brandegee
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 250. Mentioned on page 249.

Plants many branched; branches 10–30(–50). Roots thick taproots, large in upper portion. Stems subspheric, 4–5 × 5–8 cm, soft, flaccid; tubercles 12–25 × 5–8 mm; axils slightly short woolly, without bristles; cortex and pith not mucilaginous; latex absent. Spines 13–15 per areole, whitish to yellowish, glabrous; radial spines 12–14 per areole, gray, bristlelike, 6–9 × 0.1 mm, stiff; central spines 1 per areole, porrect, straight, not hooked or curved, similar to radial spines, 3–6 × 0.25 mm; subcentral spines 0. Flowers 4 × 5–7 cm; outermost tepal margins entire (or minutely toothed near base); inner tepals bright yellow, paler near base, 20–30 × 4.5–8.5 mm; stigma lobes cream to pale yellow, 5–6 mm. Fruits greenish white to dull pinkish tan or maroon, ovoid to short cylindric, 10–15(–20) × 7 mm, juicy throughout; floral remnant weakly persistent. Seeds brown, 1.3 × 0.9 mm, pitted; testa soft or leathery, not hard or brittle; anticlinal cell walls straight to slightly curved; interstices equal or narrower than pit diameters; pits bowl-shaped. 2n = 22.


Phenology: Flowering Jul; fruiting May.
Habitat: Tamaulipan thorn scrub on plains and low gravelly hills
Elevation: 0-300 m

Distribution

V4 454-distribution-map.gif

Tex., Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).

Discussion

A proposed taxonomic reduction of Mammillaria sphaerica to varietal rank within the geographically disjunct and morphologically distinct Mexican species, M. longimamma, while plausible, has not yet been convincingly justified.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Mammillaria sphaerica"
Allan D. Zimmerman +  and Bruce D. Parfitt +
A. Dietrich +
Longmamma nipple cactus +
Tex. +, Mexico (Nuevo León +  and Tamaulipas). +
0-300 m +
Tamaulipan thorn scrub on plains and low gravelly hills +
Flowering Jul +  and fruiting May. +
Allg. Gartenzeitung. +
Dolichothele sphaerica +  and Mammillaria longimamma var. sphaerica +
Mammillaria sphaerica +
Mammillaria +
species +