Publication: Mammillaria Postscripts 6: 11 (1997)
From llifle page Mammillaria voburnensis var. quetzalcoatl
Description
This is one of strangest of all cacti with strongly armed prostrate stems except for their slightly raised tips. They grow about up to 3 m long, 4-8 cm in diameter and take root as they creep, ramifying further and eventually covering a huge area. Sometimes plants separate from the parent stem and spread out around it, leaving it to die. Stems have 12 ribs; large areoles, 2 cm apart; 1 central and flat spine much wider than the others, 3 cm long, and around 20 light grey or whitish radials of unequal length. Outer ones are short and subulate; inner ones are larger and flat.
Origin and Habitat
Endemic of Magdalena Island and Llano de la Magdalena, Baja Caifornia
Habitat: On sandy plains and coastal sand dunes
Cultivation and Propagation
This plant, which is seldom cultivated, needs very sandy soil and should be placed in a semiprostrate position so that it may creep.
Propagation: Propagation is usually by cuttings or seed
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures
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Edward F. Anderson “The Cactus Family” Timber Press, 2001
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James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass” Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug/2011
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David Hunt, Nigel Taylor “The New Cactus Lexicon” DH Books, 2006 ISBN 0953813444, 9780953813445
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Walther Haage “Kakteen von A bis Z” Neumann Verlag, 1981
Source: Mammillaria voburnensis var. quetzalcoatl, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.