Publication: Mammillaria Postscripts 7: 3 (1998)
Description
Plants usually unbranched, deep-seated in substrate and inconspicuous.
Stems: Spheric, that become somewhat cylindrical with age, grey-green, up to 5 cm in diameter and 2-7 cm tall.
Tubercles:Cylindrical, without latex, axils bare.
Roots: Diffuse, not enlarged.
Spines: 50 or more per areole, in several series but all equally thin, mostly appressed, white, innocuous, bristle-like, 0,5-6 mm, glabrous, all interpreted as radial, innermost spines shortest.
Central: Absent.
Flowers: Approx 1 cm long and in diameter; dirty greenish-white or cream, usually with sharply defined midstripes of reddish-brown.
Blooming season (In Europe): January to March
Fruits: Scarlet, cylindrical or clavate, 10-25 mm long, with floral remnant persistent, ripening in June-August.
Seed: Black.
Origin and Habitat
Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico. Altitude 800 - 1.900 m.
Cultivation and Propagation
This plant has not the fame to be easy to cultivate, but in good conditions with very careful application of water and excellent ventilation, it grows without difficulty. Be careful to encourage slow growth, but if you succeed in growing a colony of stems, then the results will repay all the growing efforts.
Growing rate: It is a slow growing species that will make clumps given the best conditions, but rewards the patient grower with a beautiful displays of flowers since from an early age.
Soil: Requires excellent drainage provided by a very permeable open cactus soil (With not less than 50% grit content). Avoid the use of peat or other humus sources in the potting mixture.
Repotting: Repot every 2-3 years. Use small sized pots.
Feeding: During the beautiful season enrich the soil using a fertilizer rich in potassium and phosphorous, but poor in nitrogen, because this chemical element doesn’t help the development of succulent plants, making them too soft and full of water.
Watering: Water should be carefully applied and only when the soil is dry to the touch, as this cliff-dwelling species is very prone to root rot. Allow soil to drain thoroughly before watering again. Additionally, water should not be applied from above, as the feathery spines will retain water and add to rotting problems, but in good conditions with excellent ventilation, in bright light, it usually grows without particular difficulty. Do not water in the winter.
Light: Outside full sun or afternoon shade, inside it needs bright light, and some direct sun. Direct sun encourages flowering and heavy spine production.
Hardiness: Protect from frost. But it’s hardy to -5°C if kept dry. A winter rest that allows the plant to shrivel (perhaps losing up to 25% of its summer height) will encourage flowering and long time survival.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Red spiders may be effectively rubbed up by misting the vulnerable plants every day
- Mealy bugs: occasionally they develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: Scales are rarely a problem.
- Rot: it is only a minor problem with cacti if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won’t help all that much.
Propagation: Direct sow after last frost. (it usually doesn’t produces offsets). Seeds germinate in 7-14 days at 21-27° C in spring, remove gradually the glass cover as soon the plants will be well rooted (ca 1-2 weeks) and keep ventilated, no full sun for young plants!
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures.
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Robert T. Craig “The Mammillaria handbook: with descriptions, illustrations, and key to the species of the genus Mammillaria of the Cactaceae” E P Publishing, 1945
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John Pilbeam “Mammillaria The Cactus File Handbook” Cirio Pub. Services, 01/Dec/1999
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Edward Anderson “The Cactus family” Timber Press, Incorporated, 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 R Hunt; Nigel P Taylor; Graham Charles; International Cactaceae Systematics Group. “The New Cactus Lexicon” dh books, 2006
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N. L. Britton, J. N. Rose “The Cactaceae. Descriptions and Illustrations of Plants of the Cactus Family.” Volume 4, The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1923
From llifle page Mammillaria egregia f. cristata
Description
Mammillaria lasiacantha subs. egregia is a well known tiny geophytic cactus that forms small snow-white ball. The crest form (Mammillaria lasiacantha subs. egregia f. cristata) - despite to its beauty - is still very rare and sought after by collectors, for its unique features.
Habit: It is a small low growing crested cactus that will slowly forms white tangled groups up to 10 cm in diameter. The plant grows deep-seated in substrate and is inconspicuous, but it cultivation it is almost always seen grafted on columnar cacti.
Stem: Fan-shaped, grey-green, up to 5 cm in width (but usually less).
Tubercles: Cylindrical, without latex, axils bare.
Roots: Diffuse, not enlarged.
Spines: 50 or more per areole, in several series but all equally thin, mostly appressed, white, innocuous, bristle-like, 0,5-6 mm, glabrous, all interpreted as radial, innermost spines shortest.
Central: Absent.
Flowers: Approx 1 cm long and in diameter; dirty greenish-white or cream, usually with sharply defined midstripes of reddish-brown.
Blooming season (In Europe): January to March
Fruits: Scarlet, cylindrical or clavate, 10-25 mm long, with floral remnant persistent, ripening in June-August.
Seed: Black.
Cultivation and Propagation
It regarded as a choice and difficult plant and grows quite slowly. It is usually seen as a grafted plant but grows on its own roots too.
Soil: Use mineral well permeable mineral soil with little organic matter (peat, humus).
Exposure: They need a good amount of light shade to full sun this help to keep the plants healthy, although slow growth.
Watering: Water sparingly from March till October (weekly during summertime, if the weather is sunny enough) , with a little fertilizer added. Less or no water during cold winter months, or when night temperatures remain below 10° to prevent root loss. It is very sensitive to overwatering (rot prone).
Fertilization: Feeding may not be necessary at all if the compost is fresh then, feed in summer only if the plant hasn’t been repotted recently. Do not feed the plants from September onwards as this can cause lush growth which can be fatal during the darker cold months.
Hardiness: Keep perfectly dry in winter at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade. (but it is relatively cold resistant and hardy to -5° C, or possibly colder for short periods) In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!! (Temperature Zone: USDA 9-11)
Crested growth: Unlike ‘monstrose’ varieties of plants, where the variation from normal growth is due to genetic mutation, crested growth can occur on normal plants. Sometimes it’s due to variances in light intensity, or damage, but generally the causes are unknown. A crested plant may have some areas growing normally, and a cresting plant that looks like a brain, may revert to normal growth for no apparent reason. If you have any of the crested part left you need to remove the normal growth and leave the crested part behind this will need to be done regularly.
Propagation: Grafting or cuttings. Plants are usually grafted onto column-shaped cacti but proved to be able to produce their own roots if degrafted. Cuttings will take root in a minimum temperature of 20° C (but better in hot weather). Cuttings of healthy shoots can be taken in the spring and summer. Cut the stem with a sharp, sterile knife, leave the cutting in a warm, dry place for a week or weeks (depending on how thick the cutting is) until a callus forms over the wound. Once the callus forms, the cutting may be inserted in a container filled with firmed cactus potting mix topped with a surface layer of coarse grit. They should be placed in the coarse grit only; this prevents the cut end from becoming too wet and allows the roots to penetrate the rich compost underneath. The cuttings should root in 2 to 6 weeks. Large crested piece must be placed on the soil surface without burying the plant base down in the soil.
Source: Mammillaria egregia f. cristata, LLIFLE - Encyclopedia of living forms, CC-BY-SA, retrieved 2026-10-25.
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