Xerophyte

Habit

Solitary or clustering.

Seeds

Black.

Roots

Fleshy tap root, largely exceeding the dimension of the tiny stems.

Tubercles

Dense, erect, slender, cylindrical. The axil is slightly bristly.

Flowers

Large, 15-25 cm wide and long, rich magenta with a white throat.

Forma Aurea

The schizochromic form (Mammillaria luethyi f. aurataSN|11876]]SN|26146]]) has pale yellow stems due to the absence (or reduced production) of chlorophyll pigments

Spines

Short, minuscule, as many as 80, soft and white, not prickly, in several series, erect to radiating, forming a dense, flattened cluster 1-2 mm in diameter

Stem

1.5 cm in diameter (Up to 4 cm in cultivation), flattened sub-globose, very dark-green almost black.

Fruits

4 to 5 mm in diameter, sunken in the stem, globose, yellow-green to reddish-green.