Cactaceae

Woolly nipple cactus

Mammillaria nivosa Link ex Pfeiff.

Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Mammillaria

Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Woolly nipple cactus (Mammillaria nivosa) — FruitPhoto: Thibaud Aronson, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free

Common names

By language (2)

Chinese: 金银司
English: Woolly nipple cactus

Synonyms

Cactus flavescens DC.
Cactus nivosus (Link ex Pfeiff.) Kuntze
Cactus stramineus Spreng.
Coryphantha nivosa (Link ex Pfeiff.) Britton
Mammillaria flavescens (DC.) DC.
Mammillaria flavescens var. nivosa (Link ex Pfeiff.) Backeb.
Mammillaria simplex var. flavescens (DC.) K.Schum.
Mammillaria straminea Haw.
Mammillaria tortolensis Pfeiff.
Neomammillaria nivosa (Link ex Pfeiff.) Britton & Rose

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Navassa Island: native, Puerto Rico: native, U.S. Virgin Islands: native

Photos

FruitPhoto: Thibaud Aronson, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FruitPhoto: Zoltán Stekkelpak, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Derek, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Dodly, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Dryas, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Stuart Cable, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: CactiLegacy, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Zoltán Stekkelpak, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: User:Zenwort, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Mammillaria

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.