Xerophyte

Habit

Plant freely caespitose forming large clumps of 25 or more, but loosely held together.

Central Spines

Usually 1, rarely 2, stouter, darker coloured than the radials, yellow at base, brownish red in upper half, 10 mm long.

Seeds

Brown.

Description

Mammillaria eichlamiiSN|25924]]SN|25924]] differs from the other Guatemalan species in the yellow wool in the axils of the tubercles and in the areoles. If water is kept off the areole wool of this cactus, the areoles will maintain a deep yellow colouring. The coloring is apparently caused by secretion that occurs as the plant grows new areole wool.

Tubercle Arrangement

8 – 13.

Tubercles

Yellowish green, very milky, conical, only slightly angled; axils filled with denseyellow (sometimes whitish) wool and 5-6 longer white bristles.

Flowers

2 cm long and in diameter. Flower-buds covered with long wool. Outer perianth-segments narrow, acuminate, with a brownish-red stripe down the center, otherwise cream coloured, slightly ciliate. Inner perianth-segments narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, entire, cream coloured to light lemon-yellow. Style longer than the stamens, pale. Stigma-lobes linear, 4 to 6, yellow, obtuse.

Stem

Plant-body clavate or cylindric, yellowish-green, 6 to 15(-25) cm long and 4-6 cm thick with dirty yellowish hair at the top (about 5 - 7 cm in diameter in cultivation).

Radial Spines

6, sometime 7 or 8, straight, needle-like, ascending, whitish with brown tips, 5-7 mm long.

Fruits

Dark red.

Areoles

Small, when young filled with short yellow wool, in age glabrate.