Mammillaria gigantea

Mammillaria gigantea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Cactoideae
Genus: Mammillaria
Species:
M. gigantea
Binomial name
Mammillaria gigantea
Hildm ex K.Schum, 1898
Synonyms
  • Neomammillaria gigantea (Hildm. ex K.Schum.) Britton & Rose 1923
  • Mammillaria armatissima R.T.Craig 1945
  • Mammillaria flavovirens Salm-Dyck 1850
  • Mammillaria flavovirens var. cristata {{{1}}}
  • Mammillaria flavovirens f. cristata (Salm-Dyck) Schelle 1907
  • Mammillaria gigantea subsp. flavovirens Rogoz. & Plein 2003
  • Mammillaria gigantea subsp. hamiltonhoytiae (Bravo) Rogoz. & Plein 2003
  • Mammillaria guanajuatensis Rudge ex K.Schum. 1898
  • Mammillaria hamiltonhoytiae (Bravo) Werderm. 1931
  • Mammillaria hamiltonhoytiae var. fulvaflora R.T.Craig 1945
  • Mammillaria hamiltonhoytiae var. pilensis (Shurly) Repp. 1987
  • Mammillaria hastifera Krainz & A.Keller 1946
  • Mammillaria macdowellii K.Schum. 1898
  • Mammillaria ocotillensis R.T.Craig 1945
  • Mammillaria ocotillensis var. brevispina R.T.Craig 1945
  • Mammillaria ocotillensis var. longispina R.T.Craig 1945
  • Mammillaria pilensis Shurly 1961
  • Mammillaria pilensis Shurly ex Eggli 1985
  • Mammillaria saint-pieana Backeb. 1963
  • Neomammillaria flavovirens (Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose 1923
  • Neomammillaria hamiltonhoytiae Bravo 1931
  • Neomammillaria pilensis (Shurly) Y.Itô 1981

Mammillaria gigantea is a species of cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae native to Mexico.[1] It is named for its large size.

Description

Mammillaria gigantea is a cactus that grows low and almost cake-shaped, often slightly sunken at the top, and covered in white wool felt. Its blue-green body is 9 to 10 cm high and 15 to 17 cm in diameter, with densely packed warts that produce milky juice. The axillae are covered with white wool. It has up to 12 small, fine-needle, straight white radial spines, each up to 3 mm long, and 4 to 6 strong, usually curved central spines, with the lowest one reaching up to 2 cm. New central spines are yellow-brown with dark tips, later becoming yellowish, white to horn-colored, and reddish at the base.

As with all Mammillaria, the flowers appear in a wreath. They are green-yellow and about 15 mm in diameter. The fruits are pink to greenish, and the seeds are brown.[2]

Distribution

Mammillaria gigantea is found in the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Querétaro, at altitudes between 1750 and 2400 meters.[3]

Taxonomy

It was first described in 1898 by Karl Moritz Schumann.[4] The specific epithet "gigantea" comes from Latin and means "enormously large," referring to the plant's size.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Gómez-Hinostrosa, C.; Sánchez , E.; Guadalupe Martínez, J. & Bárcenas Luna, R. (2013). "Mammillaria gigantea". Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. ^ Anderson, Edward F. (2011). Das große Kakteen-Lexikon (in German). Stuttgart (Hohenheim): Ulmer. p. 382. ISBN 978-3-8001-5964-2.
  3. ^ "Mammillaria gigantea". LLIFLE. 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  4. ^ Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Eaton, Mary E.; Rose, J. N.; Wood, Helen Adelaide (1919). The Cactaceae : descriptions and illustrations of plants of the cactus family. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46288.
  5. ^ Schumann, Karl Moritz; Hirscht, Karl. (1899). Gesamtbeschreibung der Kakteen (Monographia cactacearum) /von Karl Schumann. Neudamm [Dębno, Poland?]: J. Neumann. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.10394.