Species · genus Mammillaria · Cactaceae

Mexican Pincushion

Mammillaria magnimamma Haw.

Also known as: Mexican Pincushion Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest

Reference · M. magnimamma

Cultivars of M. magnimamma

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. magnimamma 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 magnimamma is a clustering succulent cactus from the arid highlands of central and northern Mexico, built to store water and endure long dry spells. Give it gritty, fast-draining mineral mix and the brightest direct light you can offer. Water deeply only when the soil has been fully dry for several days, and cut back sharply in winter; sitting wet is what rots it.

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

Cream to pink 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 Mexican Pincushion 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.