Mammillaria plumosa has beautiful feathery looking spines that are so soft, it makes it one of the friendliest of all cacti.

Clumping plants form low, dense mounds sometime up to 40 cm wide entirely covered by the mass of white feathery spines.

Depressed globose or somewhat elongate stem, without latex, spherical, 4- 7 cm high and in diameter. Light green, but appearing white because of the dense spines.

The blooms are whitish yellow and up to 15 mm long (occasionally with pink midstrips), with astrong sweet scent.

Needs regular water in summer, but for best appearance keep water off of the spines. Do not let the soil become too dry in winter, either. It does better with a good drained soil mix since it is a rot prone species, whose roots are easily lost in pots that stay damp for any length of time. It takes a couple of years to offset, but once it starts it can fill a 25cm pot in just a few years. Propagation: Seeds, offsets (Cuttings root quickly). Needs full sun or light shade in summer.