Chilita swinglei

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Since 4 Aug 2013

Chilita swinglei (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Cactography 2 [sphalm. Swingleri]. 1926
Family: CACTACEAE

= Mammillaria swinglei (Britton & Rose) Boed.
Mammillarien-Vergleichs-Schluessel 33 (1933); cf. Gray Herb. Card Cat., Issue 145. Boed.

Accepted Scientific Name: Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt
Cactaceae Syst. Init. 20: 21. 2005 [Nov 2005]

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli
(Now often considered a synonym of Mammillaria sheldonii to which it don’t shows significant differences)

Origin and Habitat: Sonora, Mexico Altitude up to 1.200 m.

Synonyms:

Mammillaria swinglei (Britton & Rose) Boed.

Chilita swinglei (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Chilita swingleri (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Cochemiea swinglei (Britton & Rose) Doweld
Ebnerella swinglei (Britton & Rose) Buxb.
Mammillaria microcarpa f. swinglei (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri f. swingeli (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Neomammillaria swinglei Britton & Rose

See all synonyms of Mammillaria grahamii

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Accepted name in llifle Database:
Mammillaria grahamii Engelm.
Syn. Cact. U. S. 6. 1856 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 3: 262. 1857
Synonymy: 26

Mammillaria grahamii Engelm.

Cactus grahamii (Engelm.) Kuntze
Chilita grahamii (Engelm.) Orcutt
Cochemiea grahamii (Engelm.) Doweld
Coryphantha grahamii (Engelm.) Rydb.
Mammillaria microcarpa subs. grahamii (Engelm.) Mottram
Mammillaria milleri var. grahamii (Engelm.) Neutel.

Mammillaria microcarpa Engelm. in Emory

Chilita microcarpa (Engelm. in Emory) Buxb.
Ebnerella microcarpa (Engelm. in Emory) Buxb.
Neomammillaria microcarpa (Engelm. in Emory) Britton & Rose

Mammillaria microcarpa var. auricarpa W.T.Marshall

Mammillaria microcarpa f. auricarpa (W.T.Marshall) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri f. auricarpa (W.T.Marshall) Neutel.

Mammillaria microcarpa f. cristata hort.
Mammillaria milleri (Britton & Rose) Boed.

Chilita milleri (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Mammillaria microcarpa var. milleri (Britton & Rose) W.T.Marshall
Neomammillaria milleri Britton & Rose

Mammillaria oliviae Orcutt

Chilita oliviae (Orcutt) Orcutt
Ebnerella oliviae (Orcutt) Buxb.
Mammillaria grahamii var. oliviae (Orcutt) L.D.Benson
Mammillaria microcarpa f. oliviae (Orcutt) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri f. oliviae (Orcutt) Neutel.
Neomammillaria oliviae (Orcutt) Britton & Rose

Accepted name in llifle Database:
Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt
Cactaceae Syst. Init. 20: 21. 2005 [Nov 2005]
Synonymy: 33

Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt

Chilita sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Cochemiea sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Doweld
Ebnerella sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Buxb.
Mammillaria microcarpa var. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri var. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Mammillaria sheldonii (Britton & Rose) Boed.
Neomammillaria sheldonii Britton & Rose

Mammillaria alamensis R.T.Craig

Chilita alamensis (R.T.Craig) Buxb.
Escobariopsis sinistrohamata (Boed.) Doweld
Neomammillaria alamensis (R.T.Craig) Y.Itô

Mammillaria gueldemanniana Backeb.

Chilita gueldemanniana (Backeb.) Buxb.
Mammillaria microcarpa f. gueldemanniana (Backeb.) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri f. gueldemanniana (Backeb.) Neutel.

Mammillaria gueldemanniana var. guirocobensis (R.T.Craig) Backeb.

Ebnerella guirocobensis (R.T.Craig) Buxb.
Mammillaria guirocobensis R.T.Craig

Mammillaria inaiae R.T.Craig

Chilita inaiae (R.T.Craig) Buxb.
Ebnerella inaiae (R.T.Craig) Buxb.
Neomammillaria inaiae (R.T.Craig) Y.Itô

Mammillaria marnieriana Backeb.
Mammillaria pseudoalamensis Backeb.
Mammillaria swinglei (Britton & Rose) Boed.

Chilita swinglei (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Chilita swingleri (Britton & Rose) Orcutt
Cochemiea swinglei (Britton & Rose) Doweld
Ebnerella swinglei (Britton & Rose) Buxb.
Mammillaria microcarpa f. swinglei (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Mammillaria milleri f. swingeli (Britton & Rose) Neutel.
Neomammillaria swinglei Britton & Rose

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Common Names include:
ENGLISH: Swingle's Pincushion, Pincushion Cactus

Description: Mammillaria swingleiSN|8816]]SN|8817]] is a basally branching cactus that forms tight clumps. It is now often considered a synonym of Mammillaria sheldoniiSN|8817]]SN|8816]] to which it don’t shows significant differences.
Stems: 10-25 cm tall, 3-5 cm in diameter, dull green, often becoming reddish. Without latex.
Tubercles: Cylindrical four-sided basally, keeled 7-10 mm long , 5-7 mm in diameter; axils without wool, but sometimes with a few more or less setose bristles. Tubercule arrangement: 8-13.
Central spines: 1-4 brown needle-like ascending, dark brown or black, the lowest one elongated (up to 1.5 cm. long), hooked at apex or sometimes straight;
Radials: 11-18 obscuring the tubercles, 7-14 mm long, needle-like rather stout, spreading, dull white with dark tips.
Flowers: Wide funnel-form purplish pink (White and yellow varieties are mentioned) inodorous 3 cm in diameter. Outer perianth-segments greenish or sometimes pinkish; margins somewhat scarious; inner perianth-segments narrowly oblong, nearly white with a brown stripe down center; style pink, twice as long as the pink filaments; stigma-lobes 8, linear, pointed, green.
Blooming season: April, In cultivation the flowers remain open for several days (at least three).
Fruits: Pale scarlet, clavate, 14-18 mm long.
Seeds: 1 mm in diameter, constricted below, black with a large elliptic basal hilum.

Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Mammillaria grahamii/sheldonii group

Mammillaria alamensis R.T.Craig: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii) without or with only 1 central spine, about 9 radial spines, white, tipped brown, needle-like, about 6 to 8 mm long. Distribution: Sierra de Alamos, Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Mammillaria grahamii Engelm.: has 20-35 white to greyish to light brown to reddish radial spines. 1-4 central spines yellowish to dark brown central, one usually hooked. It is very variable. Distribution: California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, USA; Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua, Mexico.
Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii (Britton & Rose) D.R.Hunt: has 9-24 radial spines. Central spines either straight or hooked, 1-1,5 cm long. Flowers purplish-pink with a pinkish brown midstripe. It is variable. Distribution: Mexico (Sonora and Chihuahua).
Mammillaria gueldemanniana Backeb.: aside from bigger flowers, not many differences. Distribution: Mexico, Chihuahua, Sonora and Sinaloa.
Mammillaria gueldemanniana var. guirocobensis (R.T.Craig) Backeb.: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii) has 1-3 reddish-brown central spines almost 1 cm long. One spine is hooked. Flowers bigger and widely open. Distribution: Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua at higher altitudes.
Mammillaria inaiae R.T.Craig: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii)
Mammillaria marnieriana Backeb.: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii)
Mammillaria microcarpa Engelm. in Emory: (Mammillaria grahamii) has 15-35 pale radial spines and 1-3, yellowish-brown to purplish black centrals, the longest hooked. Fruits scarlet. Distribution: USA (Texas, New Mexico, Utah, California and Arizona) and Mexico.
Mammillaria microcarpa var. auricarpa W.T.Marshall: (Mammillaria grahamii) has pale, radial spines and a yellowish brown hooked central spine. Flowers are 4 cm in diameter, pink, and are followed by golden yellow berries. Distribution: U.S.A. (Arizona).
Mammillaria microcarpa f. cristata hort.: crested form.
Mammillaria oliviae Orcutt: (Mammillaria grahamii)
Mammillaria pseudoalamensis Backeb.: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii) variant recognisable from M. alamensis for the absence of central spines, and larger flowers with a characteristic distinctive orange pistil. Distribution: West of Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Mammillaria swinglei (Britton & Rose) Boed.: (Mammillaria grahamii subs. sheldonii) has wide funnelform purplish pink flowers up to 3. Stile style pink, twice as long as the pink filaments; stigma-lobes 8, linear, pointed, green.

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Cactus Art

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Cactus Art

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Cactus Art

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Chilita swinglei (Mammillaria swinglei) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli

Cultivation and Propagation: This plant blooms easily and needs lots of light. Use pot with good drainage and a very porous mineral-based potting mix. Pot plants are quite wet-sensitively, especially in light of its small root system. Water sparingly during the growing season, let soil dry in between to prevent root rot, keep very dry in winter. Feed with a high potassium fertilizer in summer.
Usually it is recommended to overwinter this plant in a bright and warm greenhouse with at least 8-10° C , but it proved to be quite frost resistant (if kept dry it hardy as low as -7° C) A resting period in winter and strong light are necessary so that it can flower properly. Plants will offset readily, and dense clumps can be produced in a very few years.
Propagation: Through seeds and cuttings.

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by Valentino Vallicelli

by Cactus Art

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Cite this page: "Chilita swinglei" Text available under a CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution License. www.llifle.com 14 Nov. 2005. 28 Feb 2025. </Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/9379/Chilita_swinglei>