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| Mammillaria albinata |
Mammillaria
There are about 300 species of Mammillaria, most of them come from
Mexico but some are from the Southeast of the United States, the Caribbean,
Central America and the north part of South America.
It is possible to found Mammillarias from the sea level to higher
elevations.
Also they vary in size from miniatures of 2.5 cm. wide, to columnar
types of up to 30 cm. long.
The name of the genus was proposed by Haworth in 1812. It comes from
latin, mammilla, breast, because areolas are arranged in conical tubercles
instead of being arranged in ribs like many other cactus. Another
significant difference is that flowers do not appear from the areola,
but from the armpit of tubercles.
Since there are so many species, with so many different shapes, their
growing requirements are also very different. Some species grow very
fast and are easy to grow, blooming while the plant is young. Some
are very resistant, while others are prone to root rotting if they
are growed in very cold places, or with the soil too wet. All the
species require porous well drained soil.
Generally, the plants bloom easily, specially if they are put to rest
in winter.
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