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September 15, 2005 : Mammillaria elongata 'Crest'
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Keywords: Cactaceae | Mammillaria elongata 'Crest' | 2005 Indoor Plant Sale
Much to the chagrin of zombies everywhere, this is not —and I quote— “BR-R-R-RAIN-NSss”, but rather a “brain cactus”. This is a morphological variant of the species Mammillaria elongata DC., or golden star cactus. The distinct morphology of this and other brain cacti, known as cristate or crested growth, is caused by an apical meristem gone awry.
The shoot apical meristem is the site of growth that elongates the plant. It's located at the growing tip (apex). In the case of this cristate variant, the apical meristem no longer performs cell division from a single point. Instead, the formation of new tissue occurs as cells divide laterally from an elongated meristem. For another example of cristation, see this photograph of a cristate saguaro cactus (you can also read some speculation on the whys of cristation in saguaros: Crested Saguaros - What is the Rhyme or Reason? in PDF format).
As you can tell, this is a “studio shot”. This cactus is one of roughly one hundred different kinds of plants for sale at this year's Indoor Plant Sale (more information). UBC's Friends of the Garden have been enthusiastically running this event for twenty-eight years. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best selection of plants I've seen yet (I've seen six sales), and the selection includes some particularly striking carnivorous plants. Please consider attending today or tomorrow, if you're a local reader. All funds raised support research and education at the garden.
In BPotD news, there'll be an announcement tomorrow for Macintosh Tiger users.
Botany resource link: Linked above, Cal's Plant of the Week (by Cal Lemke of the University of Oklahoma). Cal is the botany greenhouse grower, so the plants he features tend to be tropicals; the site is a good complement to BPotD for that reason, since it is rarely convenient for me to feature such plants.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at September 15, 2005 12:43 AM
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Posted by: Michael at September 15, 2005 9:36 AM
Wow! I've never seen anything like that!
Posted by: Colleen Kilkenny at September 15, 2005 11:04 AM
Michael, I don't know. All I can say is that photographs I've seen of this cactus generally show it at about this size and not much larger, so if it doesn't get too much bigger, I don't think that's a risk.
On a different note, I wonder if anyone else noticed the resemblance between the image of the cristate saguaro and the first image on the page of the link explaining meristems?
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at September 16, 2005 12:57 AM
The close-up is truly intriguing. Thanks agsain, Daniel. I've been away on duty travel for a while, and catching up on old BPOTD shots is a perfect break.
Posted by: Jeremy Cherfas at September 27, 2005 3:16 AM
Hi there!!!
Just one question:
Is there anyway to make a crestate variation from a normal cacti? or is just nature's law...?
Posted by: Gonzalo at December 12, 2006 3:51 PM
I received one of these for Christmas. I am a full time student with a pretty solid GPA so the humor was appreciated. I am not, however, a plant person. What do I need to know to keep this very interesting mutation healthy?
Posted by: Big Dan at December 28, 2006 9:27 PM
Dan, if no one answers you on here, I suggest posting to the Cacti and Succulents forum on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. I personally don't know, not having grown any of these. I imagine the conditions are similar to growing other cacti – infrequent watering with very well-draining soil and a good amount of sunlight.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at January 2, 2007 12:42 PM
I live in northeastern PA. I was wondering if you can buy one in this area, and, if so, where do I get one. They are so absolutely cool!!!!
Posted by: cheryl at April 4, 2007 7:27 PM
Dear sir,
Thank you very much sir for the photograph of this plant. Earlier i have never seen this plant though i have grown different plants. If you wish to see some of my rare plants, I'l send you photos by E-mail. Reply me as per your needs.Feel free to communicate with me.
Thanks
Dr.Mani.
Posted by: Dr.Mani at January 17, 2008 11:43 PM
Mines bigger(though not much, maybe 1.5 times). I've had it since it was smaller, and have been growing it for 11 or so years. The only thing I've done that I would assume is something specific to this plant is to keep a semi-close eye out for rot. Some spots might go softer, and brown, but with the dense spines it's not always easy to see. However, the spines aren't painful(they may get stuck in you though) and I just use my bare hands to pull away the dead parts, being sure to go as deep as I need to.
Posted by: tehol at January 31, 2008 8:02 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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What seems striking is that this cactus is healthy throughout its interior. One would imagine that over time this cactus would "strangle" itself to death by preventing air and light to the initial growth inside. Does this happen?