Mammillaria elongata For post number 7, I have the magnificent Mammillaria elongata , commonly called the ‘Ladyfinger cactus’. This is a truly beautiful cactus, with tons of character (and spikes!). Mammillaria derives from the word nipple or teat! Carl Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 after the tubercles (round like nodules) sometimes found on these cacti. Carl was somewhat of an expert on naming things and is often called the ‘father of modern taxonomy’ (it was him who grouped humans with apes), so I begrudgingly accept his nipple naming of this un-nipple like plant. The name Mammillaria elongata makes slightly more sense knowing that ‘elongata’ means ‘longer’ or ‘elongated’. Mammillaria elongata , will forever be called the elongated nipple to me. The Mammillaria genus contains around 200 species of cactus, varying greatly from single stems to clumps, balls to columns, with stiff to hairy spines. I picked my Mammillaria elongata from my local ...
Comments
Post a Comment