Plant Name
Scientific Name: Mammillaria heyderi var. macdougalii
Synonyms: Mammillaria gummifera, M. gummifera var. macdougalii, M. heyderi ssp. macdougalii, M. macdougalii
Common Name: Macdougal's Nipple Cactus
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub, Cactus
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert (upper elevation), Upland
Flower Color: Greenish white to cream, Light green, Tan to greenish tan, Pale pink
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 6 inches (15 cm) tall, but usually much less
Description: The flowers are up to 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm) across and have greenish stigma lobes and narrow, petal-like tepals. The tepals have a reddish, pink, greenish, tan, or brown central streak. The stems are broadly cylindrical, but they are very flat and may be almost level to the ground, making these low growing plants difficult to spot. Each nipple-like tubercle on the stem has 1 or 2 central spines and 10 to 12 radial spines.
Special Characteristics
Legal Status – Protected Native Plant (Salvage Restricted)
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae – Cactus family
Genus: Mammillaria Haw. – globe cactus
Species: Mammillaria heyderi Muehlenpf. – little nipple cactus
Variety: Mammillaria heyderi Muehlenpf. var. macdougalii (Rose) L.D. Benson – Macdougal's nipple cactus
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