Mammillaria theresae f. crestata

It is a small cylindrical cactus, olive green with typical magenta shades, which does not exceed 5 centimeters in length, but rather tends to cluster, while it grows. It has many small conical tubercles, from which microscopic white spines emerge, that look like a hairy starfish. The characteristic, for which this Mammillaria is highly appreciated, is undoubtedly its funnel-shaped pink inflorescence, which is even larger than the stem. Another peculiarity is that of having cryptocarpic fruits, this means that they remain inside the plant: when the flower withers, the stem directly incorporates the fruit, that is being generated. The crested shape of this cactus is highly appreciated by green collectors, because it is still quite rare to find and very particular, thanks to the stem, which, in the crest, takes on an even more reddish-purple color.