Mammillaria gracilis is a small Mexican cactus, very popular in cultivation for the ease with which it forms dense colonies of new offsets.
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Caryophyllales |
| Family | Cactaceae |
| Genus | Mammillaria |
| Species | Mammillaria vetula subsp. gracilis |
Commonly known as Mammillaria gracilis, this plant corresponds botanically to Mammillaria vetula subsp. gracilis. It is a small cactus, up to 13 cm tall, with bluish-green stems that are somewhat globose or cylindrical.
Like the other species of its genus, its body is covered in conical tubercles topped by areoles with up to 50 white radial spines arranged in a star shape. Its flowers are small and pale yellow, and grow in a crown near the apex of the stem.
It is endemic to central Mexico, specifically the states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and Querétaro, where it forms colonies in pine forests between 1,600 and 3,350 m above sea level.
It produces offsets very readily at any height along the stem, forming dense masses — a feature that makes it very popular among cactus enthusiasts, as it is easy to multiply.
There are highly prized cultivars, such as “Arizona Snowcap”, with shorter spines and numerous offsets around the upper part of the stem.
