I think that is one of the forms of Mammillaria magnimamma. It does increase by bifurcation instead of clustering from the base. The black tips on the spines is characteristic.

Dzitmoidonc,
I looked up Mammillaria magnimamma and found a number of pictures that look just like mine (okay, maybe in better shape). I didn't know some cacti increase through bifurcation instead of clustering, that's very interesting. Do the "heads" become more distinctly separate over time or will it always have the appearance of one cactus?

Thanks so much!

Planto

Planto, I have a couple of older Mammillarias that stayed short and make a tight cluster (Mammillaria karwinskiana ssp nejapensis, for instance), and another species that split 2X then has grown separate longer stems. The 4 stems are tall enough that they sort of lay over. I'll see if I can scare up a pic to show what I mean.

Dzitmoidonc,
I'd love to see any pictures you can muster up. :)

Planto

Planto, here is my M. mag.

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This is an old Mamm, one plant that divided, then divided again.

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Other random pics from today.

Mamm. wohl., plant is about 15 years old.
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Mamm. matudae with a few bumps along the way.

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Noto. geting ready for spring.

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This post was edited by Dzitmoidonc on Mon, Mar 24, 14 at 20:33

Dzitmoidonc,
Wow, I was just expecting a couple pictures of your Mamms, but you provided quite the show! Thanks for sharing!

Your M. mag. is stunning. I am guessing that yours has clumped over the years rather than bifurcated like mine? If that's the case, maybe mine will clump eventually.

The old Mamm that divided itself, is it all connected at some point?

I absolutely love your Mamm. wohl. Is it a clump or did it bifurcate a couple of times?

I always thought the prostrate nature of M. matudae was a bit strange...

I love Mamms and Notos, I had a N. haselbergii for a couple of years, the display of orange flowers always brightened my day. What color flowers is your Noto. going to have?

Thanks again for sharing and my apology for all the questions, hehe.

Planto

Hey Planto. Yes, those 4 Mamms are all connected in the area where the spines have turned black. The M. wohlschlageri (syn. M. lasiacantha) is also one plant. The matudae is hard to carry since the spines are anxious to break off in your skin.

This is a view of 2 friends, the Melocactus and the Rhipsalis. I know, they rarely encounter each other in nature, but here a piece of the Rhip fell and rooted. Anyway, I post the pic because it shows a bit of another bifurcating Mamm. (Mammillaria nejapensis, aka M. karwinskiana).

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This is another Mamm. that has split and now has 2 heads. (Behind the Cleistocactus.) Hard to get pics when the plants are behind others.
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Dzitmoidonc,
I imagine how difficult it is to take pictures of specific cacti, so I really appreciate your efforts. I also appreciate you sharing, it's not everyday I get to see such a collection. How long have you been "collecting?"

I've had my share of wanting to "share their spines" cacti. The ones with the "fishhooks" are the worst so far... Either that or Ferocactus spines.

Does your Rhipsalis have seed pods? If so, that's not something I've seen before. Your Melocactus doesn't seem to mind the companionship, haha.

I guess it will be interesting to see how my Mamm. develops over the years. I don't remember it having two "heads" when my Mother brought it home a couple years ago.

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Tue, Mar 25, 14 at 21:27

That particular Rhipsalis makes small whitish berries with no flavor. The fruit in the pot in the pic are from the Melo. (There's one still hanging on the top.) The hairs on the cephalium are so tight that as the fruit grows, it is forced up and out. The fruit are hollow and tasteless, and few seeds are inside.

Rhipsalis species. The large stems are one species, the gold flowers belong Hatiora (Rhipsalis) salicornioides, and the white flowers and small green stems are the third species that co-habit with the Melocactus.

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I've had houseplants since I was a kid. Some followed me around the country for 10 years, but the majority became succulents in the mid 90s. With the internet came the opportunity to find formerly obscure things like cactus seeds and people who were growing more than they could want. The 2 things go hand in hand. I still have many plants that are 20 years old, including an Espostoa guentheri that is now about 9ft. tall and reaching the roof of the greenhouse. Anybody want to come get it?

Apparently, I missed the Melo. fruit on the cephalium, hehe. Too bad they don't have any taste, even worse that they don't contain many seeds. Have you successfully grown a Melo from seed?

I apologize for all my questions. I'm an inquisitive mind. :)

My Mother bought me a 'Drunkard's Dream' once... That was one of my first casualties when I started my interest in C&S.

I had to type in Espostoa guentheri as I was unfamiliar with the name. I'll be darned! I used to have a NOID cactus that I never knew the name of. You inadvertenly identified it for me. I haven't seen another one since I lost mine. I can't imagine a 9ft cactus. I'm pretty sure our ceiling is too low for that one. :)

What other plants do you own other than cacti and succulents? I'd imagine your houseplant collection must be stunning if you have so many C&S.

Sounds like a few of your plants have been around since I was a kid. I can't imagine having a 20 year old plant. Maybe one day. :)

Planto

I bought mine labelled as M. parkinsonii 8 y ago. It was 1.5inches high at that point. This is the same mam. today. Hope that helps.
Nik

Nik,
Thanks for sharing. Yours looks a little different than mine, but they do have the yellow flowers in common.

Planto

Dzitmoidonc: learned a new word today-bifurcation.
My Mamms split dichotomously. Yours is simpler to spell.
fRANK

Hi Frankc

I think you have a M. karwinskiana. It shows that it has both wool and bristles in the axles where the blooms appear. Don't thank magnimamma has that trait. Lots of ssp in this species so you will have to check the flowers when they appear. That may or may not help.

Bob

Bob