Mammillaria perezdelarosae
Submitted by Maria Capaldo and Mike Short.
Members are given one of these at the start of the year. We are to look after it and bring it back at the December 2025 meeting (the annual Holiday Lunch) for comparison. Judging and a small prize may be involved.
Scientific Name: Mammillaria perezdelarosae
Author Citation: Bravo & Scheinvar (1985)
Pronunciation: mam-mil-AR-ee-uh per-ez-del-ah-ROH-say
Synonyms: Mammillaria bombycina subsp. perezdelarosae, Escobariopsis perezdelarosae
Origin of Name: [Mammillaria] Nipple- or teat-like. [perezdelarosae] For Jorge A. Pérez de la Rosa, 20th century forestry engineer and secretary of the botanical institute of the University of Guadalajara.
Place of Origin: Native to Jalisco in central Mexico at elevations from 2,000m (6,560 ft) to 2,400m (8,200 ft).
Habitat: Steep rocky mountain slopes.
Description: Mammillaria perezdelarosea SN|9007SN|11894 is one of the more beautiful Mammillaria, with smallish stems densely covered with curious bicolored spines. It combines clean, glassy white radial spines with hooked dark-brown centrals. At first it stays solitary but then offsets with time. Occasionally, plants will offset when quite young, and dense clumps of spherical bodies will result. Growth is slow to moderate, and the best plants are grown somewhat slowly to conserve the dense spination. It is closely related to Mammillaria bombycina SN|11894SN|9007. Flower are darker towards the center, greenish cream or pink. Light frost protection required. Minimum of 5ºC for safe growing (but hardy up to -5°C or less). High levels of light are needed to flower and for good spine development. Can be sunburned if moved from shade/greenhouse into full sun too quickly. During the spring it may be able to take full sun until the heat arrives at the end of spring. In an area that has hot afternoon sun, it may be able to take full morning sun, but requires afternoon shade or afternoon light shade. If grown correctly, it will reward the grower with generous displays of purple flowers. [Llifle]
Care: Needs regular water but do not water again until dry, as it is especially sensitive to over watering; plants should be allowed to become crowded in their pot. Keep in shallow pot. Also, it is a species that is dormant in the winter and require very little water (maybe even none) during the cold months.
Ranking (Wikipedia)
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Clade(s) | Tracheophytes Angiosperms Eudicots |
| Order | Caryophyllales |
| Family | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily | Cactoideae |
| Genus | Mammillaria |
| Species | M. perezdelarosae |
Links to sources of information:
Also see the SCCSS Annual Plant List