Mammillaria bombycina

Native to southwestern Aguascalientes and northeastern Jalisco in Mexico, this small succulent cactus grows in dry shrubland habitats. It forms clusters of cylindrical stems reaching about eight inches tall. Dense white hairs occupy the spaces between its prominent tubercles, which carry fine white radial spines and longer brown central spines. Deep rose-pink flowers, about half an inch across, emerge near the tops of the stems. It is commonly called silken pincushion cactus. It is Vulnerable in the wild. Photographed in Ecuador.