Species · genus Mammillaria · Cactaceae

Mother Of Hundreds

Mammillaria compressa DC.

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Reference · M. compressa

Cultivars of M. compressa

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under M. compressa yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Mammillaria compressa is a clustering succulent cactus native to arid and semi-arid regions of central and northern Mexico, where it stores water in its body and endures long dry spells. Give it gritty, fast-draining mineral mix and bright direct light, and water deeply only when the soil has gone completely dry all the way through the pot. In cooler months reduce watering further, as it rots easily if left sitting in damp soil.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

7–32 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix

Propagation

Offsets separated and rooted after callusing

Fertilizing

Dilute low-nitrogen cactus feed in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Ring of pink-magenta flowers in spring

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Mother Of Hundreds yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.