Species · genus Mammillaria · Cactaceae

Little Candles

Mammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Haw.

Also known as: Silver Cluster Cactus · Texas Nipple Cactus · West Indian Nipple-cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico Northeast, Texas

Reference · M. prolifera

Cultivars of M. prolifera

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. prolifera 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 clustering succulent subshrub from arid regions of Mexico, Texas, and the Caribbean, this cactus stores water in its small mounding stems and rots if kept wet. Give it gritty, fast-draining mix and bright sun, and water deeply only when the soil has been fully dry for several days. In cooler, darker months extend the interval considerably and err toward drought.

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 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 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

Moderate

Flowering

Pink flowers followed by red berry-like fruit

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 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Little Candles 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.