''Mammillaria elongata'', the gold lace cactus or ladyfinger cactus, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

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Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, 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 ...

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to central Mexico. Growing to tall by wide, it consists of densely packed clusters of elongated oval stems, covered in harmless (although very sharp) yellow or brown spines, and in spring producing white or yellow flowers. It is among the most common and most variable of its genus in nature, and is a popular subject for cultivation. It has gained the

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Description

The cactus forms dense groups of cylindrical, erect or semi-prostrate stems about 6 to 15 cm long and 1.5 to 3.7 cm in diameter. Its body, bright green, is formed by short conical tubercles (2 to 4 mm) ending in round and woolly areoles in the young segments, unlike tubercular axils that lack wooliness. It has between 15 and 30 short radial spines (6 to 12 mm), curved outwards that intersect with those of the nearby areoles and 1 to 3 central (sometimes absent) yellow or golden color. The flowers arise on the upper part of the stems, with pale yellow or white toothed petals, sometimes with a darker or reddish central line 1.5 cm in length and diameter. The fruits are cylindrical to globose, brown or red, with a large number of seeds. Blooms profusely between late winter and early summer.

Cultivars

* Golden Stars * "Copper King" * "Cristata" (Brain Cactus) * "Julio" File:Mammillaria elongata var stella-aurata2 ies.jpg, flowers File:Mammillaria elongata 33.JPG, ''Mammillaria elongata'' File:Lady finger cactus.jpg, Top view of Lady finger cactus File:Mammillaria elongata Cristata 0zz.jpg, Brain cactus, ''Mammillaria elongata Cristata''

References

* Maria Papafotiou, George N. Balotis, Panayiota T. Louka and John Chronopoulos, (2004) ''In vitro plant regeneration of Mammillaria elongata normal and cristate forms'', Volume 65, Number 2.

External links

* * elongata Cacti of Mexico Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Central Mexico {{cactus-stub