Mammillaria dioica, in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
A springtime photograph from this past year, during a visit to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
The California Native Plant Society’s page for Mammillaria dioica makes mention of this specific growing situation (the latter):
In desert areas it is most often found growing in very rocky areas, sometimes growing out of crevices in granite boulders in the desert-edge canyons.
Fishhook cactus or strawberry cactus is native to southern California and northwestern Mexico. The “strawberry” part of the second name is a reference to the red, ovoid fruit; these apparently taste like a cross between a strawberry and a kiwifruit.
I am puzzled by the epithet: the flowers on the picture seem to show both anthers and stigmata; are the latter not functional in this specimen?
That’s a good question, i’m a lay man but i thought there was no dioicism in cactii
Not sure when Mammillaria dioica was given the specific epithet. But, some botanists base the descriptive names on incomplete or misidentified information.
An example is Paphiopedilum micranthum. The specific epithet, micranthum, small or tiny flower, is not really morphologically correct since the flowers of this species are some of the largest in the genus. Apparently, the first descriptions in 1951 were based on a deformed or an uncharacteristically small flowered specimen. The name stuck even to this day.
Just one of many misnomers.
All that said, this is a beautiful plant!
Hello from Mexico. Here’s a quote from Wikipedia:
“A single plant can bear both male and female flowers, from mid-spring to mid-summer. Some plants may produce bisexual flowers as well, thus totaling three types of flower on a single plant.”
Why ‘Mammillaria?’ The white flowers? Or does the cut plant ‘bleed’ a milky substance?
Haha Love…Mammillaria suggest the plant looking like, uh well, breasts (as in mammals).
What a beautiful photo Daniel. Some day it will grace my desktop. 🙂
beautiful
Mammillaria wildii f. cristata
what I have from show in VanDusen from 2014
A spectacular photograph! The flowers are beautiful, each and every spine is there in sharp detail, and best of all, there is the surprise element of – what about the roots? I guess they’re digging into the rock? A great find, Daniel, I love it.
Mammillaria is descriptive of the fruits which resemble nipples.
Thank you Daniel –what an extraordinary photo and comments are wonderful.
Stunning photo.
I guess this is what they mean when they say “between a rock and a hard place”.