I know very little about Mammillaria ID, but I am noticing that you are posting great pictures.

Please continue and send lots more.

I am enjoying them very much.

Al

You don't see M. gasseriana very often in this country although I suppose its just a wildflower for you :)

So I don't have one to compare, but I don't think its M. gasseriana. How about M. lasiacantha?

Thank you for your comments.
I check for lasiachanta and It is very similar, especialy M. lasiachanta ssp egregia.
I will wait for a confirmation ID
Alfonso

This one has been on my list. I just love the white spines like that. Very nice looking and healthy plant you have.

Dawn

Hello Alfonso, it's a Mamm lasiacantha definitely, ssp egregia possibly. I've had several of these over the years but for some reason always seem to kill them! Yours looks quite happy.

Cheers, CP.

Alfonso,

Here is an example to show how difficult it is to ID this group of Mamms. This picture shows one Mamm. egregia/denudata/lasiacantha in the rear and two different forms of Mamm. gasseriana in front.
The left hand one without central spines and the right hand one with hooked centrals (also called M. stella-de-tacubaya):

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Jordi

You are right Jordi, stella de tacubaya was another of my guess
Alfonso

There has been a lot of discussion on gasseriana and stella-de-tacubaya. They are not the same it seems, and having now valid examples of both species, they are clearly different.
I'm told that gasseriana is the plant that I've grown as M. chica and M. viescensis. Its hooked central spines are not constant in all forms either. And this looks ot be what you have in your picture.
M. stella de tacubaya is actually the right name for what we have become used to as M. gasseriana!

Confused? I was!

In Pilbeam's book on Mammillaria, he tells how the Fitz Maurices have resolved the question as described above, and he goes on to say that the original picture of M. gasseriana (reproduced in Craig) is of a plant with fine radial spines and compared with stella de tacubaya, quite slender and longer central spines. Very much like viescensis, in my view, and therefore seems to me that its a correct diagnosis.

So if the plant has separated clusters of radial spines and a single strong hooked central it is stella de tacubaya, and if the radial spines are fine and overlapping, and the centrals slender and long, then is proper name is gasseriana.

Either way the plants are great little gems of the genus, and definitely to be grown.