Krainzia crinita

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Since 4 Aug 2013

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Krainzia crinita (DC.) Doweld
Sukkulenty 3(1-2): 42. 2000
Family: CACTACEAE

Accepted Scientific Name: Mammillaria crinita DC.
Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. 17: 112. 1828

Synonyms:

Mammillaria crinita DC.

Cactus crinitus (DC.) Kuntze
Chilita crinita (DC.) Buxb.
Ebnerella crinita (DC.) Buxb.
Krainzia crinita (DC.) Doweld
Mammillaria glochidiata var. crinita (DC.) K.Schum.
Mammillaria glochidiata f. crinita (DC.) Schelle

See all synonyms of Mammillaria crinita

Common Names include:
UKRAINIAN (Українська): Мамілярія криніта, Мамілярія кудлата

Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Mammillaria crinita complex

Mammillaria aurihamata Boed.: has golden yellow hooked central spines. Distribution: Mexico, where it occurs in San Luis Potosi, near Real de Catorce.
Mammillaria brevicrinita Repp.: (Mammillaria crinita) Radial spines 10 - 29, white, finely pubescent, 6 - 9 mm long.
Central spines: 0 - 7, awl-shaped, yellowish to red to dark brown, 8-16 mm long, one or two hooked.
Mammillaria crinita DC.: This taxon comprises a very variable a complex of forms, variety and species with varible spination. The flowers cream colored to a pink-cream colored. This is one of the most prolific bloomers among the Mammillarias.
Mammillaria crinita subs. duwei (Rogoz. & P.J.Braun): It is a small cactus with delicate near harmless feathery spines densely wrapped against the body of the cactus. The long central spine is not present on all the clones, they are yellowish, hooked, to 8 mm long, pubescent. The flowers are yellowish/cream to light yellow.
Mammillaria crinita subs. duwei f. cristata hort.: crested form completely covered by tight pubescent spines.
Mammillaria crinita subs. duwei f. inermis hort.: this is a selected strain with pure feathery radial spines (central spines absent)
Mammillaria crinita subs. duwei f. monstruosa hort.: This is a true oddity and some say that this monster is nothing else than a abnormal root grafted upside down.
Mammillaria crinita f. nana (Backeb.)
Mammillaria crinita subs. painteri (Rose) U.Guzmán: has red, brown or coffee coloured central spines. With age it may offset from the base to form a small cluster. Distribution: Queretaro and adjacent areas in Hidalgo and Guanajuato.
Mammillaria crinita subs. painteri f. monstruosa cristata hort.: Crested form. has more bristly spines than the Mammillaria crinita subs. painteri f. monstruosa from which it derives.
Mammillaria crinita subs. painteri f. monstruosa hort.: Cultivated mutant characterized by very reduced or absent spines, free branching, and with small pink flowers.
Mammillaria glochidiata var. xiloensis Repp.: (Mammillaria crinita) Plants irregularly forming tightly packed cluster of egg-shaped balls, up to 5 cm tall with dark yellow fine hooklike spines and pale cream-pink flowers.
Mammillaria monancistracantha Backeb.: (Mammillaria crinita f. nana)
Mammillaria scheinvariana R.Ortega V. & Glass: (Mammillaria crinita) Stem covered by numerous hairlike radial spines, giving the plant a shaggy appearance.
Mammillaria tezontle W.A.Fitz Maur. & B.Fitz Maur.: has small stems only 1-2 cm in diameter with short, yellow central spination and relatively large flowers. Distribution: North of San Luis Potosi.
Mammillaria trichacantha K.Schum.: (Mammillaria crinita f. nana) It his is a remarkable species on account of its having short hooked brown to yellow/orangish spines that finally turn to gray.
Mammillaria wildii A.Dietr.: (Mammillaria crinita ssp. wildii) Short brownish to yellow hooked, minutely pubescent central spines and 1 to 15, whitish, smooth, 4 to 5 mm long radials.
Mammillaria wildii f. cristata hort.: (Mammillaria crinita ssp wildii "cristata") It will form huge crested and free flowering mounds up 40 cm (or more) in diameter.
Mammillaria zeilmanniana Boed.: has flowers typically carmine violet to purple-pink in color, seldom white. Distribution: San Miguel de Allende in Cañada Virgen, Guanajuato.
Mammillaria zeilmanniana f. albiflora hort.: is a white flowered sport that was produced in cultivation and not known to occur in the wild.

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Cultivation and Propagation: Mammillaria crinita is an easy species in cultivation, recommended for any collection that needs lots of light with ample airflow.
Growth rate: It is a small growing, but easily flowering species. It takes several years to offset, but once it starts it can fill a 25 cm pot in just a few years given the best conditions.
Soils: It likes very porous standard cactus mix soil with little organic matter (peat, humus).
Repotting: Repotting every 2-3 years. It will need a pot with sufficient depth to allow the tap root. As it is especially prone to rot under-pot in a smaller container filled with very porous compost. Use pot with good drainage.
Watering: Water regularly in summer, but do not overwater (very wet-sensitively, especially in light of its succulent root system). Its roots are easily lost in pots that stay damp for any length of time. Keep dry with ample airflow in winter. In the rest period no high atmospheric humidity!! Care must be taken with watering as they tends to become swollen and untidy in growth habit if given too much water and shade.
Fertilization: During the growing season enrich the soil 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.
Hardiness: Reputedly sensitive to frost , but less so if kept on the dry side prior to, and during, cold weather (hardy to -5° C for short periods, but some reports give it hardy to -12°C). However some warmth throughout the year will increase the grower's success (minimum 5° to 8°C during rest season).
Exposition: Outside bright sun, filtered sunlight or afternoon shade, inside it needs bright light, and some direct sun. Subject to sunburn if exposed to direct sun for too long. Tends to bronze in strong light, which encourages flowering and heavy wool and spine production.
Uses: It is an excellent plant for container growing. It always looks good and stays small. It look fine in a cold greenhouse and frame.
Pests & diseases: It may be attractive to a variety of insects, but plants in good condition should be nearly pest-free, particularly if they are grown in a mineral potting-mix, with good exposure and ventilation. Nonetheless, there are several pests to watch for:
- Red spiders: Sensitive to red spider mite. Overhead watering is helpful in controlling mites.
- Mealy bugs: Easily they develop aerial into the new growth among the wool with disfiguring results, but the worst types develop underground on the roots and are invisible except by their effects.
- Scales: they are rarely a problem.
It is wise to treat your whole collection with a systemic insecticide twice a year in spring and autumn.
- Rot: it is only a minor problem with mammillaria if the plants are watered and “aired” correctly. If they are not, fungicides won't help all that much.
Propagation: Direct sow after last frost or (rarely) cuttings. Seeds germinate in 7-14 days at 21-27° C in spring, remove the glass cover gradually as the plants develops and keep ventilated, no full sun for young plants! The seedlings should not be disturbed until they are well rooted, after which they can be planted separately in small pots. Cuttings: wait until the offsets that appear at the base of old clustered specimens are 1/3 the size of the parent and then detach and plant. Cuttings will take root in a minimum temperature of 20° C (but better in hot weather). Cuttings of healthy shoots can be taken in the spring and summer. Cut the stem with a sharp, sterile knife, leave the cutting in a warm, dry place for a week or weeks (depending on how thick the cutting is) until a callus forms over the wound. Once the callus forms, the cutting may be inserted in a container filled with firmed cactus potting mix topped with a surface layer of coarse grit. They should be placed in the coarse grit only; this prevents the cut end from becoming too wet and allows the roots to penetrate the rich compost underneath. The cuttings should root in 2 to 6 weeks.

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Cite this page: "Krainzia crinita" Text available under a CC-BY-SA Creative Commons Attribution License. www.llifle.com 14 Nov. 2005. 16 Mar 2025. </Encyclopedia/CACTI/Family/Cactaceae/8848/Krainzia_crinita>