Species · genus Mammillaria · Cactaceae

Haage's Pincushion Cactus

Mammillaria haageana Pfeiff.

Also known as: Pincushion Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Mammillaria haageana — reference photo — no rights reserved · CC0

Cultivars of M. haageana

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. haageana 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.

A Mexican Pincushion Cactus

Mammillaria haageana is a succulent subshrub in the cactus family, first described in 1836. It belongs to the large and varied Mammillaria genus, and is accepted as a distinct species with two recognised subspecies.

Source: Kew

Native to Central Mexico

This cactus comes from Mexico, ranging from Guanajuato through to Veracruz and Oaxaca. In the wild it grows in desert and dry shrubland, and it has also become established outside its home range, having been introduced into Assam.

Source: Kew

A Compact Succulent Habit

Mammillaria haageana grows as a succulent subshrub, the low, clustering form typical of its genus. Kew records two accepted subspecies, haageana and vaupelii, and the species carries a long history of names, having been shuffled among Cactus, Neomammillaria, and Mammillaria over the years.

Source: Kew

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

Carmine-pink blooms in a crown 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.

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 Haage's Pincushion Cactus yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.