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Mammillaria (Supplement)

To the species described on pp. 320-2, Vol. II., the following should now be added:

M. barbata (bearded). fr. green, oblong, crowned with rudimentary flowers. Stem simple, depressed-globose; axils of the tubercles naked; prickles radiating in several series, very numerous, about forty white, piliform outer ones, and ten to fifteen more robust inner ones, the central ones singularly robust, uncinate, fuscous, erect. New Mexico, 1885. (R. G.1208, a-c.)

M. cornimamma (horny-nippled). fl. light yellow, with a purplish stripe on the back of all but the innermost segments, 3in. broad. Summer. Stem sub-globose, about 2 1/2in. in diameter, greyish-green, the axils and areolae of the younger tubercles densely white-woolly; tubercles large, conical, grooved down the upper face; outer spines 10in. to 13 1/2in. long, tipped brown, the inner ones one to three, dark brown, stouter and longer. Native country unknown. 1887.

M. echinata (prickly). Stem often multiplex, cylindrical, elongated; tubercles naked, broad at base, very short, obtuse at apex; young areolae slightly tomentose; prickles bristle-like, sixteen to eighteen, radiating, spreading-recurved, yellow, much longer than the tubercles, the two central ones rigid, slightly fuscous. Mexico, 1885. (R. G. 1208, d-e.)

M. echinus (hedgehog-like). fl. yellow, nearly 2in. long, cup-shaped, produced two or three together at the top of the stem. June. Stem about the size and shape of a small hen's-egg, completely hidden by the spines; tubercles 1/2in. long, arranged in thirteen spiral rows; spines white, radiating, with a central, spike-like one. Mexico. Warm house. See Fig. 32. M. elephantidens (elephant's-tooth). fl. 3in. wide; sepals violet, with white margins; petals bright rose, purple at base, a line of purple extending down the middle; stamens numerous, with purple filaments and yellow anthers. Autumn. Stem globose-depressed, 6in. to 8in. in diameter, bright, shining green; tubercles smooth, round, 1 1/2in. long, furrowed across the top (which at first is filled with wool, but when old is naked), the base furnished with a dense tuft of white wool; spines recurved, radiating in groups of eight, springing from the furrows. Paraguay.

M. fissurata (fissured). fl. rose-coloured, 1 1/2in. wide, growing from the middle of the stem. September and October. Stem and rootstock shaped like a whiptop, the rootstock being thick and woody; tubercles arranged in a thick layer, spreading from the centre, rosette-like. Mexico, 1885. This species resembles some of the Gasterias.

M. longimamma (long-nippled). fl. citron-yellow, large and handsome, the short tube hidden in the tubercles; petals 1 1/2in. long, narrow, pointed, all directed upwards; stamens short, numerous. Early summer. Stem seldom more than 4in. high, branching at the base when old; tubercles 1in. long, 1/3in. in diameter, terete, slightly curved, narrowed to the apex, each crowned with a tuft of about a dozen spines. Mexico.

M. macromeris (large-parted). fl. about 3in. long and wide, arising from the centre of the stem; petals carmine, almost purple just before fading, regular and spreading as in the Oxeye Daisy. August. Stem about 4in. high, naked t base, woody and wrinkled when old; tubercles as in M. longimamma, but with long, curving, radial spines, like needles, often 2in. long, white or rose-tinted when young, almost black when old. Mexico. Owing to the woody nature of the rootstock, and the long, tap-like habit of the stouter roots, this should be planted in pans instead of pots.

M. phellosperma (corky-seeded). Stems simple, sometimes proliferous at the base, globose when young, afterwards almost cylindrical or pear-shaped, 5in. high, 2in. in diameter; tubercles 1/2in. long, arranged in twelve spiral rows, slightly woolly in the axils; spines radiating in two rows, about fifty on each tubercle, the three or four central ones hooked at the tip or sometimes straight, and almost black, while the remainder are almost white. This plant has not been known to flower under cultivation.

M. Scheerii (Scheer's). fl. terminal, erect, with several whorls of spreading, recurved petals, the lower ones tinged crimson, the upper ones pale yellow, forming a shallow cup 2in. across. Stem 7in. high and 5in. in diameter at base; tubercles large, swollen, somewhat flattened, the apices crowned with about a dozen brown spines. Mexico.

M. Schelhasii (Schelhas'). fl. white, with a line of rose down each petal, 3/4in. across. Early summer. Stem producing offsets freely at the base, which grow into full-sized stems, and develop young ones till a compact cushion is formed; tubercles closely arranged, cylindrical, shining green, with fifteen to twenty radial, white, hair-like spines, 1/2in. long, and three inner, thicker ones, usually only one being hooked. Mexico.

M. semperviva (ever-living). fl. inconspicuous, scantily developed near the outside of the top of the stem. Stem pear-shaped, 3in. wide, the top slightly depressed; tubercles conical, 1/4in. long, their bases set in a cushion of white wool, their tips bearing tiny tufts of wool, and four small spines, which fall away on the tubercles becoming ripe, leaving two short, diverging, central spines. Near Zimapan, Mexico (at an elevation of 5000ft.)

M. sub-polyhedra (often many-sided). fl. arranged in a zone on the tops of the old stems; sepals greenish-yellow; petals bright red. May. fr. scarlet, 1in. long, pear-shaped. Stem simple (till it becomes old, when it develops offsets at the base), broadly cylindrical, 8in. high, 5in. in diameter; tubercles four-sided at base, prism-shaped, bearing pads of white wool in the corners at the base, and crowned with tufts of four to seven spines, usually all radial, sometimes one central. South Mexico.

M. sulcolanata (woolly-grooved). fl. bright yellow, Poppy-scented, nearly 2in. across, the spread of the petals suggesting Paris Daisies. June to August. fr. glaucous-green, egg-shaped. Stem simple when young, proliferous at sides when old, the young plants developing from the apices of the tubercles, not in the axils, as is usual; tubercles nut-shaped, large, the bases surrounded by white wool, the points bearing eight to ten rigid, brown spines, all radiating from a little pad of wool. South Mexico, 1836.

M. vivipara (stem-sprouting). fl. in the apex of the stem, 1 1/2in. long and broad; petals about thirty, bright purple, fimbriated. May and June. fr. pale green, 1/2in. long. Stems produced in profusion, sometimes forming a cluster 3ft. in diameter; tubercles small, hidden by the spines; spines radial, about twenty to each tubercle, white, hair-like, stiff, about 1/2in. long, the central four or six a little longer than the others. Louisiana.

M. v. radiosa (radiate). This is distinguished by its large flowers and shorter spines.