Mammillaria knippeliana

Generally it is a solitary cactus, which sometimes becomes dichotomous with growth. It has a globular, slightly cylindrical stem, equipped with very evident pointed tubercles, at the apex of which small white and very straight spines protrude from downy areoles. In the grooves between the tubercles, as well as at the apex of the plant, there is the typical whitish down, that distinguishes many Mammillarias and gives it an apparently soft semblance, in contrast to the hard and bristly one, that the spines give it, creating an overall very scenographic appearance.