''Cochemiea dioica'', also called the strawberry cactus, California fishhook cactus, strawberry pincushion or fishhook cactus, is a cactus species of the genus ''

Cochemiea ''Cochemiea'' is a genus of cactus. The group was previously Synonym (taxonomy), synonymized with ''Mammillaria'', until Molecular phylogenetics, molecular phylogenetic studies determined that—when broadly Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscrib ...

''. Its common name in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

is ''biznaga llavina''.IUCN Red List: ''Mammillaria dioica''
/ref>

Distribution

The cactus is found in the western

Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...

scrub including in

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AN-zə bə-RAY-goh'') is a California State Park located within the Colorado Desert of Southern California, United States. Created in 1932, the park takes its name from 18th ...

, and in

Coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

habitats of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

; and in coastal

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

habitats of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

states on the Baja California peninsula of México. It grows from in elevation.

Polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the biological cell, cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of (Homologous chromosome, homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have Cell nucleus, nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning ...

wild plants of this species have been found in Mexico. Both tetraploid and hexaploid varieties have been recorded.

Description

''Cochemiea dioica'' possesses short, firm

tubercles In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, b ...

ending in the spines. Most of these spines are whitish and straight, but each tubercle has a longer central spine which is slightly curved and dark.efloras.org: ''Mammillaria dioica''
/ref> A single plant can bear both male and female flowers, from mid-spring to mid-summer. Some plants may produce bisexual flowers as well, thus totaling three types of flower on a single plant. The flowers are white to cream in color and range from 10 millimeters (0.4 inch) to 30 millimeters (1.2 inches) in length. The fruits produced are bright red and ovoid, often with one end thicker than the other and are edible and tastes like a cross between a

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

and a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

. The seeds are small (0.6 to 0.8 millimeters), black, and pitted.

Uses

The

Kumeyaay people The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Uni ...

(''Diegueño''), of

and

, eat the raw fruits as a food source.

Cultivation

''Cochemiea dioica'' is cultivated by specialty cactus

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

and by botanical gardens for plant sales. It requires very well-drained soil, and so is often grown in pots and in raised beds in drought tolerant gardens.PlantFiles.com: cultivation of ''Mammillaria dioica'' (Strawberry Cactus)
/ref>

References

* U.S. Army Field Manuals: Survival IQ Handbook

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Mammillaria dioica'' (fish hook cactus, strawberry cactus)USDA Plants Profile for ''Mammillaria dioica'' (strawberry cactus)Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Mammillaria dioica''efloras.org: Flora of North America: ''Mammillaria dioica''
*
''Mammillaria dioica'' — CalPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q143427 dioica Cacti of Mexico Cacti of the United States Desert fruits Flora of Baja California Flora of Baja California Sur Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Plants used in Native American cuisine Garden plants of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status