Cactus  (Mammillaria pectinifera)

Classified as Endangered (EN) on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (3), and listed on Appendix I of CITES (4).

This small, spiny cactus appears above the ground as a squat, cylindrical stem (2). The stem consists of many swellings, known as tubercles, which in turn have cushion-like areoles at their tip (2). These structures bear 20 - 40 white spines, closely packed together so that the overall appearance of the cacti is a centrally depressed sphere completely covered by flattened, comb-like spines. In season, flowers emerge through the spines; the petals are creamy-yellow with pink stripes (2).

Endemic to Mexico, Mammillaria pectinifera is currently known from only two sites within the state of Puebla in south central Mexico (2).

Inhabits dry scrubland with a chalky (or calcareous), rocky soil (2).

Little is known about the biology of this small cactus.

Collectors have prized this distinctive and unusual cactus over the years, and well-known sites have suffered from extensive exploitation (2). Only two populations are currently known to persist in the wild and their position is increasingly precarious due to the small isolated number of individuals and ongoing habitat disturbance. Quarrying and the dumping of rubbish are worrying threats in the area that contains the greatest number of individual plants (2).

International trade in plants and seeds of wild origin is banned by the listing of Mammillaria pectinifera on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (4). In addition, the demand for this species is being increasingly met by seed-raised plants, thus reducing the pressure on wild populations (2). Further field studies are needed in the area in the hope of uncovering additional wild populations; constant monitoring of known sites is also required, in order to raise the alarm for a rescue mission should this become necessary (2).