Mammillaria carnea

Mammillaria carnea is a species of cactus in the subfamily Cactoideae, native to the Mexican states of Guerrero, Puebla and Oaxaca. It grows on plains and slopes of the deciduous forest at elevations of about 500 to 2000 metres. The plant grows solitary or in clusters up to 20 centimetres tall and 8 to 12 centimetres in diameter, and its shape changes from spherical to cylindrical as it ages. Its body is covered in firm, angular warts that contain milky sap. Each areole carries four stiff, pink-brown central spines with black tips, 0.8 to 2 centimetres long, while radial spines are either absent or appear only as bristles. The flowers are funnel-shaped and light pink, 1.5 to 2 centimetres long and 1.2 to 1.5 centimetres across, and the red fruits hold brown seeds. The species was first described in 1837 by Ludwig Georg Karl Pfeiffer, and the epithet carnea means flesh-colored.