Common Name:

General Information

Mammillaria tetrancistra is a spiny, evergreen, cylindrical cactus that branches to produce one to many globose to cylindrical stems from a fleshy taproot. The aerial portion of the stem is around 5 - 10cm tall and 3 - 6cm in diameter, the underground portion of stem is usually thickened, flabby and rootlike, often 5 - 8cm long and merging into the thickened upper part of the roots[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Mammillaria tetrancistra is widely distributed, included in several protected areas, and there are no major threats affecting it. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Southwest N. America - California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, northwest Mexico

Habitat

Desert scrub, growing in rocky soils in hills and mountains, and sometimes adjacent middle to upper bajadas, often intermixed with Mammillaria grahamii; at elevations from 135 - 1,000 metres[, ]

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	0.10 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Mammillaria tetrancistra is a plant of arid and semi-arid regions in southwest N. America. It requires a dry climate and plenty of heat in the growing season. The plant is somewhat cold tolerant, in its native habitat it can withstand short periods with temperatures falling as low as -7°c[]. This is the most arid-inhabiting of all mammillarias[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The fruit is juicy only in the fruit walls[]. Fruits succulent, bright red and longer than wide[]. Although the fleshy part of the fruit is edible, the seed cork will make you spit it out - an easy way to identify this species[]. The bright red, ellipsoid or cylindrical to club-shaped fruit is around 8 - 30mm long and 5 - 10mm in diameter[].
The basal one third of the seed is covered with a light-coloured, corky aril-like cup (the strophiole, a specialized outgrowth or proliferation of hilum tissue), the strophiole is pale coloured and spongy when fresh, drying brown and corky and remaining firmly attached to the seed[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -