Mammillaria chionocephala J.A.Purpus

국표에 없다.

Origin and Habitat: Highlands of central Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Durango).
Type locality: Sierra de Parras, Coahuila, Mexico.
Altitude range: 1450-2400 metres above sea level.
Habitat and ecology: Mammillaria formosa subs. chionocephala grows in rocky areas together with Thelocactus macdowellii, Ferocactus steinesii, Hamatocactus hamatacanthus, Echinocactus horizonthalonius, Fouquieria splendens, Thelocactus phymatothele, Neolloydia conoidea, Agave striata, Yucca filifera, Ariocarpus retusus and Lophophora williamsii, amongst others.

Synonyms:

• Mammillaria formosa subs. chionocephala (J.A.Purpus) D.R.Hunt

 

Common Names include:
UKRAINIAN (Українська): Мамілярія xіоноцефала, Мамілярія сніжнобілоголова

 

Description: Mammillaria formosa subs. chionocephala (firstly described as Mammillaria chionocephala by J.A.Purpus 1906) is an attractive globose pincushion cactus simple or rarely proliferous, sometimes 10 cm in diameter and typically wrapped on the upper part with a dense snow-white wool, so that only the tips of the tubercles visible. Each head is surrounded by a complete ring of star-like pink flowers. Even without flowers it is an extremely attractive plant, and one of the most beautiful mammillarias. Young plants start producing their wool only when they reach the flowering stage. There are several similar looking Mammillarias but far from being so woolly like the real "chionocephala".
Note. It was distributed by Pringle in 1890 as Mammillaria acanthophlegma and has been in collections for many years. In 1906 Dr. J. A. Purpus described it as Mammillaria chionocephala. It resembles very much a large plant of Mammillaria elegans, but the tubercles are milky and bear dense hairs and wool in their axils. Some people consider Mammillaria formosa subs. chionocephala to be good species.
Stem: Symmetrical, solitary, slowly becoming branched, flattened-globular to short cylindrical, rounded or depressed at the summit, light to dark green, 15-20 cm high, 9-10 cm in diameter with a milky juice.
Tubercles: Tubercles arranged in 13-21 series, low, crowded, obtusely tetragonal-pyramidal, very milky, axils of tubercles densely filled with white wool and numerous hair-like bristles up to 20 mm long.
Radial spines: 22-24, occasionally as many as 40, rigidly bristle-like, white, to 8 mm long, somewhat pectinate, spreading.
Central spines: Usually 2-4, rarely as many as 7, straight or somewhat curved, more or less divergent, much stouter than the radials, rigid, white with brownish tips.
Flowers: About 1 cm long and in diameter, white to rose-red, in a circle near the summit.
Blooming season: Spring.
Fruit: Clavate, carmine red, to 10 mm long.
Seeds: Small, brown.

Mammillaria chionocephala (llifle.com)

https://youtu.be/zLvzGNwtM0k

 

https://youtu.be/t5DvY0gd4lE?t=354