Mammillaria dioica
Mammillaria
California fishhook cactus, fish hook cactus, strawberry cactus
chilita, fishhook cactus, globe cactus, pincushion
diffuse, upper portion not enlarged.
diffuse or taproots (adventitious from offsets in M. thornberi and M. prolifera).
nearly spheric to more often cylindric or long cylindric, 5–30 × 5–7 cm, firm;
tubercles 5–12 × 3–7 mm;
axils woolly, bearing 4–15 bristles (0 in young growth) as long as tubercles;
cortex and pith not mucilaginous;
latex absent.
unsegmented, green to gray-green, sometimes purplish under stress, spheric to cylindric or turbinate, often flat-topped, 1–15(–25) × 1.8–12(–20) cm, firm or flaccid;
tubercles distinct, not confluent into ribs, pyramidal, conic, or cylindric, 3–25 × 2–9 mm;
areoles of 2 kinds: vegetative areoles (spine clusters) at tips of tubercles;
reproductive areoles in axils of tubercles, woolly, bristly, or naked;
areolar glands absent;
cortex and pith usually not mucilaginous, instead containing latex (absent in M. grahamii).
14–26 per areole, pinkish or reddish brown to black, glabrous;
radial spines 11–22 per areole, usually white, bristlelike, 5–7 mm, stiff;
central spines (1–)3–4 per areole, abaxial 1 porrect, hooked, longer, stouter, adaxial central spines ascending with radial spines;
subcentral spines 0.
[2–]5–80(–90) per areole, of every color that cactus spines can be, hairlike, bristlelike, or needlelike, glabrous or plumose, (0.5–)2–25(–31) × 0.01–0.6 mm;
radial spines (6–)10–80 per areole, straight to curved or crinkly bristles, (0.6–)3–25 mm;
central spines 0–several (indefinitely numerous and intergrading with radial spines in M. lasiacantha), straight, curved, or hooked, terete.
10–22 mm;
outermost tepals entire or short fringed;
inner tepals cream, usually with pinkish or reddish midstripes, longer in bisexual flowers, 5.4 mm diam.;
stigma lobes yellow to greenish yellow or brownish green, 8 mm.
diurnal, in ring distant from stem apex (or nearly apical at anthesis forming a ring around new growth, subsequent apical growth displacing fruits even farther away from apex), in axils of tubercles, unconnected to spine clusters, funnelform, campanulate, or rotate, 0.9–4(–5.2) × 0.6–3.5(–7.5) cm;
outer tepal margins entire or fringed;
inner tepals yellow, white, rose-pink, magenta, or maroon, 4–30 × 1.5–8.5 mm;
ovary lacking scales and spines;
stigma lobes cream, yellow, red, pink, or brownish green, 0.3–8 mm.
bright scarlet, clavate or ovoid, 10–25(–35) × 10 mm, juicy only in fruit walls;
floral remnant persistent.
indehiscent, usually pink, bright red, or greenish, green and barrel-shaped when seeds mature, sometimes becoming colored and clavate or cylindric to ovoid, 5–30(–40) × (2–)4–9(–26) mm, usually juicy;
scales and spines absent (or rudimentary);
floral remnant persistent to quickly deciduous.
black, 0.8 × 0.6 mm, pitted;
testa hard;
anticlinal cell walls straight (not undulate);
interstices conspicuously wider than pit diameters;
pits bowl-shaped.
black, brown, reddish, or yellowish (with tan, corky strophioles in M. tetrancistra), 0.8–1.5 × 0.6–1.4 mm, usually pitted or raised-reticulate (with additional wrinkling in M. tetrancistra) [impressed-reticulate M. candida of Mexico], often shiny;
testa cells flat to concave, walls straight to sinuate.
= 11.
= 66.
Mammillaria dioica
Mammillaria
In an inland population in California, Mammillaria dioica was found to be functionally gynodioecious (F. R. Ganders and H. Kennedy 1978), with flowers of some plants bisexual while those of other individuals bear only functionally female flowers with sterile anthers. Coastal populations of the species were not studied and might be “trioecious” with staminate, pistillate, and bisexual flowers on different plants (B. D. Parfitt 1985).
Plants of Mammillaria dioica in Mexico are both tetraploid and hexaploid (M. A. T. Johnson 1978).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 164 (14 in the flora).
The greatest diversity in Mammillaria occurs in Mexico, in rocky sites bordering, but not in, semidesert. Some latex-bearing species, such as M. lasiacantha and many Mexican taxa, have their latex ducts deep inside the cortex, not in the tubercles. When preserving specimens outside the flora area, location, color, and viscosity of latex should be carefully recorded after plants have been cut and the latex allowed to ooze from its ducts for a few minutes. The latex ranges from sticky and white to less viscous and translucent. Tubercle length in descriptions refers to the distance the tubercle protrudes or projects outward from the stem axis. Fruits with mature, viable seeds sometimes remain on the plants for months before or after ripening. The time given in each phenology statement refers to the time of first ripening of the fruit (not seeds). Seeds or dried remains of fruits often may be found deep in the axils of the tubercles, hidden by spine clusters or even pulled below the level of the soil.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Central spines hooked | → 2 |
1. Central spines, when present, straight or curved throughout their lengths | → 8 |
2. Outer tepals long fringed; seeds large, 1.3 -2.4 mm; cortex and pith mucilaginous (slimy); stems soft and flabby | → 3 |
2. Outer tepals entire or short fringed; seeds small, 0.8 -1.2 mm; cortex and pith not mucilaginous, cut surfaces almost dry to the touch; stems relatively firm | → 5 |
3. Spine clusters appearing to have more than 1 series of radial spines, one superimposed on the other, as well as hooked central spines; seeds black, with big, tan, corky strophioles | M. tetrancistra |
3. Spine clusters with only 1 series of radial spines in addition to hooked central spines; seeds black or chocolate brown, without conspicuous strophioles | → 4 |
4. Inner tepals rose or magenta | M. wrightii |
4. Inner tepals white, pale greenish, or pale rose-pink | M. viridiflora |
5. Axillary bristles present on stem; inner tepals whitish or yellowish; stigma lobes yellow, greenish yellow or brownish green; sw California, Mexico | M. dioica |
5. Axillary bristles absent on stem; inner tepals brilliant pink or purple, or if mostly white then stigma lobes red; stigma lobes red or green; e edge of California e to Texas, Mexico | → 6 |
6. Stems 2-3.5 cm diam.; plants branched prolifically from base and every branch with independent root system, connections to rest of clone ephemeral, resulting in dense clumps of independently rooted stems; stigma lobes red | M. thornberi |
6. Stems greater than 3.5 cm diam.; plants unbranched or, if branched, then centrally taproots; branches, when present, never (or very rarely and tardily) rooting; stigma lobes red or green | → 7 |
7. Stigma lobes green or yellow-green; outermost tepals minutely fringed; fringes less than 0.15 mm; spines (19-)26-33(-38) per areole | M. grahamii |
7. Stigma lobes bright red to red-purple; outermost tepals conspicuously fringed; fringes 0.4 mm; spines ca. 9-16 per areole | M. mainiae |
8. Central spines 0 or indefinitely numerous (depending on interpretation), not differentiated from radial spines; spines (26-)40-60(-90) per areole; stems (1.4-)2-4(-7) cm diam | M. lasiacantha |
8. Central spines (0 or)1-12 per areole, at least 1 strongly differentiated from radial spines, if central spines absent, then spines 10 or fewer per areole and mature stems mostly greater than 7.5 cm diam | → 9 |
9. Radial spines hairlike, soft, white to pale yellow, conspicuously contrasting with central spines | M. prolifera |
9. Radial spines bristlelike or needlelike, relatively hard, white, yellowish, brown, or almost black, not contrasting with rigid, needlelike central spines | → 10 |
10. Inner tepals bright yellow; flowers 50-70 mm diam.; stems many branched, soft and flabby, low, nearly spheric | M. sphaerica |
10. Inner tepals greenish yellow, white, pink to purplish, maroon, or rusty; flowers 6-35(-45) mm diam.; stems few branched or unbranched, firm, either cylindric or low and flat-topped (spheric in young M. grahamii) | → 11 |
11. Central spines 6-12 per areole; spines (33-)43-60 per areole; inner tepals maroon, rusty, or purplish red; flowers 6-10 mm diam | M. pottsii |
11. Central spines (0-)1-4 per areole; spines (6-)7-33(-38) per areole; inner tepals greenish yellow, white, pinkish, rose-purple, or lavender; flowers 15-35(-45) mm diam | → 12 |
12. Stems spheric to cylindric, (2.3-)3.5-6.8 cm diam., latex absent; inner tepals bright rose-pink or rose-purple; spines (19-)26-33(-38) per ar- eole; seeds black | M. grahamii |
12. Stems low, flat-topped, usually 7.5-25 cm diam., latex present, sticky, white; inner tepals greenish yellow, white, cream, or pale pink, with midstripes of pink, lavender, or brown; spines (6-)7-22(-26) per areole; seeds orange or yellow when fresh, becoming reddish brown | → 13 |
13. Fruits brilliant scarlet, carmine, or crimson; radial spines often more than 12 per areole: (8-)10-22(-26) | M. heyderi |
13. Fruits relatively pale purplish pink, whitish, or pale green; radial spines (5-)6-12 per areole | → 14 |
14. Outer tepals entire; inner tepals white to pale pink often striped with pink or lavender; spines 6-10 per areole; central spines 0-1 per areole; fruits purplish pink; Texas, New Mexico | M. meiacantha |
14. Outer tepals minutely fimbriate (8× lens); inner tepals yellow-green or cream with yellow-green midstripes; spines 11-16 per areole; central spines 1-4 per areole; fruit whitish, pale green, or pink; Arizona, Mexico | M. macdougalii |
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