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California fishhook cactus, fish hook cactus, strawberry cactus

Thornber's nipple cactus

Habit Plants unbranched or branched; branches 0–50. Plants branching prolifically from base, every branch with independent root system, connections to rest of clone ephemeral, resulting in dense clumps of independently rooted stems.
Roots

diffuse, upper portion not enlarged.

diffuse, upper portion not enlarged.

Stems

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.

slender cylindric, 4.5–10(–30) × 2–3.5 cm, tapered at base, firm;

tubercles 5–9 × 5–9 mm;

axils appearing naked;

cortex and pith not mucilaginous;

latex absent.

Spines

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.

14–22(–23) per areole, whitish to yellowish near base, pale reddish brown to nearly black toward tips, glabrous;

radial spines 13–21 per areole, whitish, with reduced dark tips relative to central spines, bristlelike, 5–9 × 0.16 mm, stiff;

central spines 1(–3) per areole, porrect, hooked, (7–)9–18 × 0.16–0.45 mm;

subcentral spines 0(–3) per areole, adaxial to central spines, ± transitional to radial spines.

Flowers

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.

1.5–3 × 1.2–2.5 cm;

outermost tepal margins densely short fringed;

inner tepals white or pinkish with bright rose-pink midstripes, 14–19 × 5–7 mm;

stigma lobes magenta, 3–6 mm.

Fruits

bright scarlet, clavate or ovoid, 10–25(–35) × 10 mm, juicy only in fruit walls;

floral remnant persistent.

bright red, obovoid to nearly clavate, 7–15 × 4–7 mm, juicy only in fruit walls;

floral remnant persistent.

Seeds

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, 0.9–1.1 × 0.8–1.1 × 0.7 mm, pitted;

testa hard, brittle;

anticlinal cell walls straight (not undulate);

interstices conspicuously wider than pit diameters;

pits bowl-shaped.

2n

= 66.

= 22.

Mammillaria dioica

Mammillaria thornberi

Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–May); fruiting summer. Flowering Apr–May, Jul–Aug; fruiting Oct–Nov, Feb–Mar.
Habitat California coastal scrub, Colorado subdivision of Sonoran desert scrub, rocky slopes Sonoran desert scrub, valley floors, under shrubs, silty or sandy soils
Elevation 10-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 400-600 m (1300-2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Sonora)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

The epithet fasciculata was long misapplied to Mammillaria thornberi; it correctly pertains to Echinocereus fasciculatus (Engelmann) L. D. Benson.

Mammillaria thornberi is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 253. FNA vol. 4, p. 253.
Parent taxa Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Mammillaria Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Mammillaria
Sibling taxa
M. grahamii, M. heyderi, M. lasiacantha, M. macdougalii, M. mainiae, M. meiacantha, M. pottsii, M. prolifera, M. sphaerica, M. tetrancistra, M. thornberi, M. viridiflora, M. wrightii
M. dioica, M. grahamii, M. heyderi, M. lasiacantha, M. macdougalii, M. mainiae, M. meiacantha, M. pottsii, M. prolifera, M. sphaerica, M. tetrancistra, M. viridiflora, M. wrightii
Name authority K. Brandegee: Erythea 5: 115. (1897) Orcutt: W. Amer. Sci. 12: 161. (1902)
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