Mammillaria bocasana

Mammillaria bocasana cultivars can be found in many forms. Some of them are so bizarre that it takes some persuasion to believe that they are bocasana at all.


This picture shows a double headed normal M. bocasana. It produces yellowish-white flowers and long thin pink fruits.










This picture shows M. bocasana v. splendens cristata. The plant resembles M. plumosa.








M. bocasana 'Fred' is a monstrose form of the species. There are several stories circulating of how Fred got its name:

1. It is attributed to Frank Harwood., which having had visitors asking what it is he replied ' I do not know, let us call it Frank'. This was in the early Seventies or late sixties.

2. From Ron Studior, a now out-of-business nursery in Texas, in the sixties.

3. Chuck Hanson's Arid Lands Greenhouses in Tucson, Arizona in the eighties.



Since then several other monstrose forms have appeared that are not 'Frank'. The one on the left is a typical example. It produces montrose and cristate forms on the same plant and grafted cuttings can take their own shape.

Aztekium hintonii monstrosa

This is a proliferous form of Aztekium hintonii. The Genus Aztekium consists of only two species A. ritteri and A. hintonii.

A hintonii was discovered only in 1991 together with another new species Geohintonia mexicana by George S. Hinton. Both species of Aztekium and Geohintonia grow on vertical gypsum hills in the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Notocactus scopa

As far as I know these are all monstrose forms of Notocactus scopa. The first picture (top) is known as variety inermis and the second is a cristate form of inermis.

The one below it is a cristate form of the classical form of N. scopa and the last picture shows another variety with long spines.

More cristate/monstrose/variegates

The first picture shows Eulychnia castanea known as varispiralis due to its spiral shape. The second picture shows Astrophytum myriostigma cristata. There are several forms of A. myriostigma that are cristate.

My name is Amante Darmanin, this Blog is about cactus and succulents and anything that is of interest in the cactus world.

I have about 2000 cacti and other succulents and am currently building a cristate, monstrose and variegate cactus collection.

I also have a collection of cactus club badges that I am collecting from around the world.

So if you have any of these and would like to exchange with me or ask me about them, please do not hesitate to email me. I will try to post pictures every week.