''Mammilloydia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
cactus
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 Gree ...
containing the sole
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 ...
''Mammilloydia candida'', the snowball cactus.
[, p. 450]
Description
''Mammilloydia candida'' is green, globe-shaped, but with age it becomes almost cylindrical. It can reach a diameter of about and a height of about . As is usual in the genus ''
Mammillaria
''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Caribbea ...
'', this plant has no ribs. The flowers are pink or white. The plant is covered by fine white hair. The spines are short, very numerous, usually snow white or brown.
Distribution
This species originates from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(
Coahuila,
Nuevo León,
San Luis Potosí and
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
).
Habitat
The natural habitat of ''Mammilloydia candida'' is the desert. It grows in the thickets of xerophytic shrubs on calcareous soils, at an altitude of above sea level.
References
Cacti GuideEoLGenus Mammilloydia in USDA
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8179806
Cactoideae genera
Monotypic Cactaceae genera
Cacti of Mexico