More Mammillarias

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 3:38 pm

Hello Daiv,
maybe this will help you a bit with the ID of the Mammillaria sp. of my last post. The two plants were brought into the country by the same fellow and thus may also be growing in the same area in Mexico. The first one (Mammillaria sp2) is 4 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 3/4 inches high, covered completely with light grey spines with a pink tint at their tops. It could be M. candida or plumosa.
The second image (Mammillaria sp3) depicts a small plant 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter with whitish radial spines and hooked honey colored centrals. This could possibly be M. carretti.

Harald

P.S.: Thank you for all the work you are doing!

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:15 pm

Hi Harald,

I read the last post, and this part of your job must be most rewarding. It is always wonderful to have a job you like.

On the cacti, the first may be candida, definitely not plumosa. Plumosa has a very soft cottony fur all over, not bristles.

As to the second, there are a large number with tubercles like that and hooked spines - I have a hard time telling the difference with many. Many are more columnar so that may help rule them out. The only one I hve like yours is boolii, but I can't say that is what it is.

Mike

M.mestre · Post by **M.mestre** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:02 pm

nice couple ,the first one could be candida ,,,,and the second some kind of crinita

The candida has a really hard spine ,with that pink in the top
Lasiacacantha it´s completly white ,and some time it´s quite similar ,also Mammillaria magallanii has the hard and white spine ,some times a bit colored

A dont kwow if I can help or cofuse you more,jejejejejejej

The flowers will show you the real id

Miguel

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:31 pm

I guess, this is all on these two. Thank you so much, Mike and Miguel!

Harald

Post by **daiv** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:20 pm

Harald,
Don't give up hope yet! Sometimes it is months later before we get an ID. Whenever I am looking to ID one plant, I'm always trying to remember other unknowns that I've seen. In this way, I've had more success accidentally identifying various plants than when I'm looking for a specific ID. So although it may take time, an ID should eventually be found.

Daiv

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:13 am

Hello Daiv,
I thought, because there had not been any new posts in a while, that forum members had taken a look and decided, that they did not want or could not venture an educated guess, or that they agreed with the identification attempts made thus far. I am not giving up hope and I am not impatient. My problem is, that I am still relatively new to this forum and have not yet figured out how everything works, including the fact, that it may take quite a bit of time to identify a plant. Either way, I feel a lot better about my limited ID skills, if someone agrees with me, at least at the genus level. If a specie name can be assigned, so much the better! I always felt a bit ashamed when I had to send cacti to a Plant Rescue Center and did not even know the genus. This forum with its eager and knowledgeable participants does help me a great deal and I am very grateful for the assistance I receive.

Harald

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:43 am

Harald,

I am curious if you have any additional contact with the various Plant Rescue centers after you give them the plant. I would think that in some cases they would be quite knowledgeable and could confirm and/or provide an ID.

Mike

Post by **daiv** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 4:38 am

No worries Harald!

I have really been enjoying seeing those wild plants.

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:38 pm

Hello Mike,
your question is a good one, and I wish we had better communications with the Fish and Wildlife agency and the Plant Rescue Centers (PRC's). However, I am not in contact with the PRC's, except for notifying them about the pending arrival of cacti or orchids at their locations. We have had a few responses from them - basically just stating, that the plants arrived in good condition - after they received the specimens, but most PRC's do not give me any feedback. As a matter of fact, I am - with your assistance - helping out the local PRC with the naming of their specimens. I was declared "unofficial cactus curator" by the man running the Plant Rescue Center, who is quite good at identifying native plants, but admits to having a weakness when it comes to cactus ID. As you can see, your input is making an impact even at the PRC level.

Harald

Post by **daiv** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:44 pm

I've been looking at these two and I think the first is definately candida (note this is also known as Mammilloydia candida)

M. crinita seems to fit best on the second. But more specifically M. crinita subsp. zeilmanniana. Anderson uses this name, but Pilbeam leaves M. zeilmanniana as it's own species.