have no clue, ID please

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While we wait for someone knowledgeable to say something, it has the pringlei/rhodantha look, although with some unusually straight central spines.

It came with a label "Mam. carretti" what is not correct i think.

Hi Hermit,

i would suggest your plant/plants is probably a form of m.geminispina, which have those slightly curved spines, the length of which can vary from short to very long and are tipped brown. A long shot could possibilty be m.albilanata sub. oaxacana

Hi Hermit,
Did you receive my suggestions.

Yes, thank you very much. I think- looking the pictures at the gallery- geminispina will be the correct answer, but let's wait until next spring, blooming season.

Hi Hermit,
If, as I expect it to be m. geminispina it probably won't come into bloom until late summer, which mine are at present doing. It's a shy bloomer. Just one or two carmine red flowers open at any one time per head. By that time there should be evidence of previous blooms, with plenty of red seed pods.

I don't think it bloomed this year. i have it from an old collector, who did not have the stregth anymore to take care of his plants, and passed away on 1th september at the age of 85. Some of his plants live on in my collection now.

It does not look like M. geminispina to me. I tend more towards M. haageana/elegans/ignota (or something closely related).

Wolter ten Hoeve.

Which was my second outside possibility! What do you think Chris.

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Now my vote goes to dixanthocentron.

Hi Hermit,

Certainly not dixanthocentron. Look at jfabiao plant on this forum in the picture gallery. It should have long curling central spines and a pinkish flower which your's doesn't. I still think looking at the flower colour and shape, and the fact there aren't that many blooms at the moment, that it's geminispina subsp. leucocentra. If it should produce a complete ring of flowers over the next few days, then possibly an albilanata type plant e.g. ignota or similar. Which according to Hunts classification are all lumped under albilanata subsp. oaxacana.

You're right, it will produce a full ring of flowers, in 1 or 2 weeks. I don't think it is geminispina, the flower looks way different (color/shape). As for the dixanthocentron, have a look on all the plants in the gallery: not all has long centrals, and some produces reddish flowers, not pink.

I promise i will make nice pics from the full blooming :-) Maybe that will bring us closer to the solution.

I think its one of the albilanata forms. Definitely not geminispina of any kind, imho, and I have seen that kind of flower on plants which I felt were albilanata oaxacana forms in habitat. They certainly didn't always form complete rings of flowers, and the outer sepals were the dull brownish pink which seems possible from those in the photos.

By the way, there are some lines in the messages which have mysteriously been highlighted and are a link to some website. These are SPAM, and the result of some type of hack, which only shows up to people not logged in. Very odd. I shall try to remove them, but I can't guarantee it - DONT click on them!!! DANGER