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Powder Puff Cactus

Mammillaria bocasana

Also called Powderpuff Cactus, Powder Puff Pincushion

Powder Puff Cactus
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Native range
NE. Mexico (to Jalisco)
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Mammillaria bocasana is a species of cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae. It is often sold as a "powder puff" cactus, and also as a "Powder Puff Pincushion." The plant is protected from collecting in the wild in Mexico.

How to grow it

Mammillaria bocasana can be propagated from seed. As it grows, it offsets, creating large mounds. This cactus is prone to rot and can tolerate temperatures of -7 degrees Celsius (20 degrees Fahrenheit) for short amounts of time. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Where it grows

In its natural habitat of Northern central Mexico, it is found between 1650–2300 meters above sea level. It grows on canyon walls, in volcanic rock and in semi-desert environs, often under bushes of native plants. It has been listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2009.

Other Mammillaria plants

Mammillaria albicoma · Mammillaria albiflora · Mammillaria albilanata · Bernal Cactus · Mammillaria aureilanata · Mammillaria backebergiana · Mammillaria baumii · Mammillaria beneckei · Mammillaria bombycina subsp. perezdelarosae · Mammillaria bombycina · Mammillaria brandegeei · Mammillaria candida

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mammillaria bocasana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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