Mammillaria grahamii and a question......

Suddenly with the hot sun today (greenhouse up to 40C), the Ancistracanthae have burst into bloom.
Here are some forms of M.grahamii:

First of all, Mammillaria grahami SB218 from Samalayuca, Chihuahua.


Secondly Mammillaria grahamii Lz688 from South of Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA


And now for the question: Mammillaria grahamii v. microcarpa fma. minnichiana (!??!).


I found this seed for sale in 2008, so it is a quick grower, when I was looking for a plant that I once had which went under the name of M. minichiana, but which looked like a form of M. louisae, but with blossfeldiana type flowers. The two seedlings that I kept from this sowing, of which one is flowering as shown, have 15-16 radial spines and 3 central spines, 2 almost like a radial but stronger and tipped brown, the lower is brown and hooked. The other two grahamii plants have more radials, up to 30 I counted on one areole.

The original M. minnichiana that I had, I tracked down to be a natural hybrid between M. hutchisoniana ssp. luoisae and M. blossfeldiana. The spine counts of M. hutchisoniana seem close to that of this plant, and that species is a fast grower, as this plant has been. I am by no means sure that this plant is the same as that I had years ago, even if the flower is much more striped than the usual M. grahamii forms.

But I'd be very interested in other's opinions. I have to say that the seed suplier (Arizona Cactus Gardens of Australia) are not specialist in any species, and just sell what seed they get from other suppliers and use the given name without any real thought being given.

If anyone has any information about this name, I'd be glad to know.

I take it you are refering to the picture of M.minnichii n.n. which is on page 316 of Pilbeam's Mammillaria book.
I have to say that comparing this with the photo of your plant is a good match especially in the shape and colour of the flowers.
Has regards a name. It would be toatally impossible to say for sure what the correct name would be, so I would stick with the name it came with until some one with more experience says other wise.
If it is a hybrid it would be interesting to see what the seedlings grow into.

Yes, I am referring to that page. I bought my original plant way back in about 1987 from Ken Burke, and never saw anything of that name again until JP wrote his book. I know that he and Ken Burke were very friendly at that time, so that is no doubt how he got to mention it.
As far a I know, no-one seems to have been back to the region where WM found the plant, so it is difficult to say if it is a localised population, or more widespread. I don't know if it is self fertile, but of the two plants I kept, only this one is in flower at the moment, and there are other hutchisoniana, louisae, and blossfeldiana in flower at the moment. I haven't segretated the plant so it may well be too late to do so.

Do you know were WM found this plant. I have looked throught the field list and there is no reference to any hybrid being found.
Just one small item to comment on.., blossfeldiana, hutchisniana, louisae are all Baja plants while grahamii is an Sonora / texas border plant.
Last point, why don't E-mail WM and ask him about the plant. His address is in the AfM membership list.

JP says that it comes from the El Rosario ares of Baja, so well south of any M. grahamii habitats. Why and how thie seed managed ot get this name, I have no idea, but as I said the seed merchant added no value and just listed seed that he had received from elsewhere, I gues sthe name could have been changed many times. I think that the plant I had years ago probably was M. minichii n.n. as per Pilbeam, but I have to treat this seedling plant as being of uncertain origin. Still, it has a nice flower, whatever it is.