Mammillaria dioica

Fish hook cactus

Family: Cactaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Fish hook cactus is a California native perennial found in southern coastal and western edge of the desert regions in hillsides, washes, and coastal scrub at elevations of 10 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to April, this cactus produces white to pinkish flowers 10 to 22 millimeters long with inner perianth parts numbering 8 to 12. Growing 5 to 30 centimeters tall with a spheric to long-cylindric form, it develops firm stems with bristly tubercle axils. Its distinctive spines include 1 to 4 central spines per areole, with one spine notably hooked, and 11 to 22 radial spines surrounding the main central spine. The fruit matures to an ovoid or club-shaped structure 10 to 25 millimeters long, characteristic of this desert-dwelling cactus.

Habitat: Hillsides, washes, coastal scrub to creosote-bush scrub

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 10-1500 m

Bioregions: SCo, w edge DSon

California counties: San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.