Mammillaria grahamii – Graham's Nipple Cactus

Mammillaria grahamii - Graham's Nipple Cactus, Pincushion Cactus, Arizona Fishhook (flowers)

Mammillaria grahamii - Graham's Nipple Cactus, Pincushion Cactus, Arizona Fishhook (fruit)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Mammillaria grahamii

Synonym: Mammillaria microcarpa

Common Names: Graham's Nipple Cactus, Pincushion Cactus, Arizona Fishhook

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Shrub, Cactus

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert

Flower Color: Pink

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer

Height: Up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall

Description: The 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide flowers are followed by bright red, 1 inch (2.5 cm) long fruit. Desert rodents eat the ripe fruit. Numerous, grayish, radial spines cover the short stems. The fewer upright central spines are dark colored and curved like fishhooks.

Special Characteristics

Legal StatusProtected 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 grahamii Engelm. – Graham's nipple cactus

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map