''Mammillaria dioica'', also called the strawberry cactus, California fishhook cactus, strawberry pincushion or fishhook cactus, is a cactus species of 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 Caribbean ...

''. Its common name in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

is ''biznaga llavina''.IUCN Red List: ''Mammillaria dioica''
/ref>

Distribution

The cactus is found in the western

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

scrub including in

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (, '' AN-zə bə-RAY-goh'') is a California State Park located within the Colorado Desert of southern California, United States. The park takes its name from 18th century Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and ...

, and in

Coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...

habitats of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

; and in coastal

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

habitats of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

states on the Baja California Peninsula of México. It grows from in elevation.

Polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

wild plants of this species have been found in Mexico. Both tetraploid and hexaploid varieties have been recorded.

Description

''Mammillaria dioica'' possesses short, firm

tubercles In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

ending in the spines. Most of these spines are whitish and straight, but each tubercle has a longer central spine which is slightly curved and dark.efloras.org: ''Mammillaria dioica''
/ref> 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. The flowers are white to cream in color and range from 10 millimeters (0.4 inch) to 30 millimeters (1.2 inches) in length. The fruits produced are bright red and ovoid, often with one end thicker than the other and are edible and tastes like a cross between a

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

and a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

. The seeds are small (0.6 to 0.8 millimeters), black, and pitted.

Subspecies

Recognized

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

include: * ''Mammillaria dioica'' subsp ''dioica'' * ''Mammillaria dioica'' subsp ''angelensis'' * ''Mammillaria dioica'' subsp ''estebanensis''

Uses

The

Kumeyaay people The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

(''Diegueño''), of

and

, eat the raw fruits as a food source.

Cultivation

''Mammillaria dioica'' is cultivated by specialty cactus

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

and by botanical gardens for plant sales. It requires very well-drained soil, and so is often grown in pots and in raised beds in drought tolerant gardens.PlantFiles.com: cultivation of ''Mammillaria dioica'' (Strawberry Cactus)
/ref>

References

* U.S. Army Field Manuals: Survival IQ Handbook

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Mammillaria dioica'' (fish hook cactus, strawberry cactus)USDA Plants Profile for ''Mammillaria dioica'' (strawberry cactus)Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Mammillaria dioica''efloras.org: Flora of North America: ''Mammillaria dioica''Mammillarias.net: ''Mammillaria dioica''''Mammillaria dioica'' — CalPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q143427 dioica Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Desert fruits Flora of Baja California Flora of Baja California Sur Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Plants used in Native American cuisine Garden plants of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status