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Species of the month

Pincushion Cactus

Some facts about this cactus:

Size of stem: 3–4 cm in diameter, 15 cm tall.
Size of flower: 2.5–3 cm in diameter.
Color of flower: Light pink; petals with darker pink median line, stigma yellowish-green.
Blooming season: May to September.
Habitat: Grows in non calcareous rocks.
Place of origin: The small islands of Pichilinque, Cerraibo and Santa Catalina off Baja California.
First described: By Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose in 1923 as Neomammillaria fraileana; in 1933, Friedrich Boedeker assigned it to the genus Mammillaria.

Mammillaria fraileana is pricky but beautiful, with bell-shaped pink flowers. The elongated, club-shaped fruit is pinkish-lilac or red, and the seeds are black. It belongs to the largestof several genera of diminutive cacti with about 175 species worldwide. This plant is not very widely cultivated, because it needs a certain amount of heat in winter and a moist atmosphere.

(Archived from Template:Species of the week)