Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis

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Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Y.Itô
Cactaceae [Itô] without basionym ref. 1981
Family: CACTACEAE

Accepted Scientific Name: Mammillaria prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt
Mammillaria Postscripts 6: 6. 1997

Origin and Habitat: Southern Chile, but also crosses the border into western Argentina at places.
Habitat: Grows at very high altitudes of above 1500 m in extremely xeric regions of Patagonia mainly in volcanic ashfields in subalpine forests, thin grassland and stony plateaux.

Synonyms:

Mammillaria prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt

Escobariopsis prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Doweld
Mammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Borg
Mammillaria prolifera f. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Krainz
Mammillaria pusilla var. haitiensis K.Schum. in Gürke
Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Y.Itô

See all synonyms of Mammillaria prolifera

Description: Plant forming large mats of cylindrical stems with small, succulent leaves and white spines, often consisting of hundreds of individual segments. It is small in size, and can reach 15 cm in height, but it can grow up to more than a meter in diameter.
Leaves: The foliage is formed by a dense mass of dark green, cylindrical and almost needle-like leaves. It keeps its leaves in the winter.
Flowers: Remarkably beautiful, large, soft, satiny, lemon-yellow.
Blooming season: Late spring.

Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Mammillaria prolifera group

Mammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Haw.: (subsp. prolifera) has stems 6-7 cm in diameter, cream to pinkish yellow flowers and yellow spines. Distribution: throughout much of the Caribbean.
Mammillaria prolifera subs. arachnoidea (D.R.Hunt) D.R.Hunt: has slender, fine central spines and quite narrow funnelform flowers. Distribution: Tamaulipas and Hidalgo.
Mammillaria prolifera f. cristata hort.: Crested form.
Mammillaria prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt: has stems to 7 cm in diameter, cream-white-yellow flowers and more spines than the type species, giving it a more whitish appearance. Distribution: endemic of Hispaniola.
Mammillaria prolifera subs. multiceps (Salm-Dyck) U.Guzmán: has white and brown spines. Distribution: USA (Texas) and northeastern Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi).
Mammillaria prolifera subs. texana (Engelm.) D.R.Hunt: has whitish or else translucent, honey-yellow spines and dirty yellow,pinkish or almost tan flowers(same as subsp. multiceps?). Distribution: Southern Texas along the Rio Grande river.
Mammillaria prolifera subs. zublerae (Repp.) D.R.Hunt

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Notes: Closest relatives: Maihuenias are very strange and unusual cacti that in earlier literature were supposed to be related to Opuntia, Pereskia and Pereskiopsis, but DNA sequencing of this group has determined that Maihuenia is not related to any of those.

Cultivation and Propagation: Maihuenia poeppigiiSN|11620]]SN|11620]] is an easy-to-grow plant, it is a surprisingly moisture-tolerant cactus, is said also to be reliably cold-hardy in central Europe and England. Of the two species Maihuenia poeppegii is the hardiest species and it can survive outside in the garden in the sunny rockery on a sheltered place, but only if it's protected with a sheet of glass during the wintertime. It is also very good for a large pot which can be stored inside an unheated greenhouse or on a balcony, somewhat protected from moisture during the winter, but is probably safest to grow it in the Alpine House or in a raised bed inside an unheated greenhouse all year around, with lots of ventilation.. It doesn't fear cold weather and it bears very harsh frost, and temperatures of around -10° (or less down to -20° if dry) degrees Celsius did not harm these plants at all. They should not be kept hot in summer as they are from high elevations. during the beautiful season it’s good to enrich the soil of our succulent plants; using a fertilizer rich in potassium and phosphorous, but poor in nitrogen, because this chemical element doesn’t help the development of succulent plants, making them too soft and full of water. For a balanced development, it is best to position the the Maihuenia poeppigiiSN|11620]]SN|11620]] in a place where it is exposed to at least a few hours of direct sunlight. Water these plants only from time to time if grown outdoors, but it should be watered abundantly if grown in a pot or in the greenhouse, during the summer. The spring weather, with a high temperature swing between the day and night hours, and pretty frequent rains, can favour the development of fungus diseases, which should be treated pre-emptively with a systemic fungicide. We suggest repotting every 2-3 years.
This species can also be grown anchored without soil on a roof (like for the sempervivums).

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Cite this page: "Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis" Text available under a CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution License. www.llifle.com 14 Nov. 2005. 15 Apr 2025. </Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/17625/Neomammillaria_prolifera_var._haitiensis>