A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word "cactus" derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek κάκτος, kaktos, a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of leaves, enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis. Cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north—except for Rhipsalis baccifera, which also grows in Africa and Sri Lanka.
Mammillaria is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Honduras. The common name "pincushion cactus" refers to this and the closely related genus Escobaria.
Mammilloydia is a genus of cactus containing the sole species Mammilloydia candida, the snowball cactus.
Fishhook cactus is a common name for any hook-spined species of the genera Mammillaria, Echinomastus or Sclerocactus. They are small cacti, usually growing up to 6-7 inches (20 cm) high, and are shaped similar to a barrel cactus. They are not to be confused with the fishhook barrel cactus of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. The Fishhook cactus is a large category of around 150 species.
The strawberry hedgehog cactus or Engelmann's hedgehog cactus is commonly found in desert areas of the southwestern United States and the adjacent areas of Mexico, including the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California and Sonora.
Echinocactus grusonii, popularly known as the golden barrel cactus, golden ball or mother-in-law's cushion, is a well known species of cactus, and is endemic to east-central Mexico.
Mammillaria dioica, also called the strawberry cactus, California fishhook cactus, strawberry pincusion or fishhook cactus, is a cactus species of the genus Mammillaria. Its common name in Spanish is biznaga llavina.
Mammillaria guelzowiana is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. The species epithet guelzowiana honors the German cactus collector Robert Gülzow of Berlín.
The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, collected from throughout the world. It contains plants from extreme environments, many of which were acquired by Henry E. Huntington and William Hertrich in trips taken to several countries in North, Central and South America. One of the Huntington's most botanically important gardens, the Desert Garden brought together a group of plants largely unknown and unappreciated in the beginning of the 1900s. Containing a broad category of xerophytes, the Desert Garden grew to preeminence and remains today among the world's finest, with more than 5,000 species in the 10 acre garden.
Mammillaria spinosissima, also known as the spiny pincushion cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, endemic to the central Mexican states of Guerrero and Morelos, where they grow at elevations of approximately 1,600 to 1,900 metres. The species was described in 1838 by James Forbes, gardener of the Duke of Bedford. Botanist David Hunt collected a specimen in 1971, when he located one near Sierra de Tepoztlan, Mexico.
Mammillaria tetrancistra is a species of fishhook cactus known by the common name common fishhook cactus. It is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, where it grows in a variety of desert habitat types.
Many cacti are known to be psychoactive, containing phenethylamine alkaloids such as mescaline. However, the two main ritualistic (folkloric) genera are Echinopsis, of which the most psychoactive species is the San Pedro cactus, and Lophophora, with peyote being the most psychoactive species. Several other species pertaining to other genera are also psychoactive, though not always used with a ritualistic intent.
Mammillaria thornberi is a species of cactus known by the common names Thornber's fishhook cactus and Thornber's nipple cactus. It is native to Arizona in the United States and Sonora in Mexico.
Mammillaria morganiana, common name owl's eyes or owl-eye pincushion, is a cactus in the genus Mammillaria of the family Cactaceae. The epithet morganiana honors the U.S. optometrists Meredith WalterMorgan (1887-1957) of Richmond.
Mammillaria marksiana is a cactus in the genus Mammillaria of the family Cactaceae.
Matucana paucicostata is a cactus in the genus Matucana of the family Cactaceae. The epithet paucicostata derives from the Latin paucicostatus, meaning having few ribs.
Mammillaria mammilllaris, common name woolly nipple cactus, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is the type species of the genus Mammillaria. It has been described by Carolus Linnaeus as Cactus mammillaris in 1753. The specific epithet mammillaris comes from the Latin mammilla, meaning nipple, with reference to the characteristic tubercles.
Mammillaria bocasana is a species of cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae. It is often sold as a "powder puff" cactus, and also as a "Powder Puff Pincushion." The plant is protected from collecting in the wild in Mexico.
Mammillaria fraileana is one of about 200 species of the genus Mammillaria from the cactus family Cactaceae. This species is native to Mexico and can be found along the east coast of the southern part of Baja California Peninsula in Desert Scrub communities. They tend to grow in non calcareous dry granite-based soil but can also grow in rocky habitats, either in rock fissures or directly on top of the rock surface even without the presence of soil. Thus, the mineral composition of the rocks in their habitat directly influence their abundance. The habitat of Mammillaria fraileana is home to succulent flora and is particularly rich in local endemics. Currently, no major threats to the species are known to exist.
Mammillaria senilis is a species of cacti in the subtribe Cactinae. It is native to Mexico, where it is found in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa and in south Zacatecas.
