Origin and Habitat: Southern Chile, but also crosses the border into western Argentina at places.
Habitat: Grows at very high altitudes of above 1500 m in extremely xeric regions of Patagonia mainly in volcanic ashfields in subalpine forests, thin grassland and stony plateaux.

• Mammillaria prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt
• Escobariopsis prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Doweld
• Mammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Borg
• Mammillaria prolifera f. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Krainz
• Mammillaria pusilla var. haitiensis K.Schum. in Gürke
• Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Y.Itô

• Mammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Haw.
• Cactus mammillaris var. prolifer Aiton
• Cactus proliferus Mill.
• Cactus stellatus Willd.
• Chilita prolifera (Mill.) Orcutt
• Ebnerella prolifera (Mill.) Buxb.
• Escobariopsis prolifera (Mill.) Doweld
• Neomammillaria prolifera (Mill.) Britton & Rose
• Mammillaria glomerata (Lamarck) DC.
• Cactus glomeratus Lamarck
• Mammillaria prolifera f. cristata hort.
• Mammillaria pusilla (DC.) Sweet
• Cactus pusillus DC.
• Cactus pusillus Kuntze
• Mammillaria pusilla var. major Pfeiff.
• Mammillaria pusilla f. major (Pfeiff.) Schelle
• Mammillaria stellaris Haw.
• Mammillaria stellata Haw. in Till.
• Cactus haworthianus Kuntze

• Mammillaria prolifera subs. arachnoidea (D.R.Hunt) D.R.Hunt
• Escobariopsis prolifera subs. arachnoidea (D.R.Hunt) Doweld
• Mammillaria prolifera var. arachnoidea D.R.Hunt

• Mammillaria prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) D.R.Hunt
• Escobariopsis prolifera subs. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Doweld
• Mammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Borg
• Mammillaria prolifera f. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Krainz
• Mammillaria pusilla var. haitiensis K.Schum. in Gürke
• Neomammillaria prolifera var. haitiensis (K.Schum.) Y.Itô

• Mammillaria prolifera subs. multiceps (Salm-Dyck) U.Guzmán
• Cactus multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Kuntze
• Chilita multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Orcutt
• Ebnerella multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Buxb.
• Mammillaria multiceps Salm-Dyck
• Mammillaria prolifera var. multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Borg in Borg
• Mammillaria pusilla f. multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Schelle
• Neomammillaria multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Britton & Rose
• Neomammillaria prolifera var. multiceps (Salm-Dyck) Y.Itô
• Mammillaria multiceps var. elongata Meinsh.
• Mammillaria multiceps var. grisea Meinsh.
• Mammillaria multiceps var. humilis Meinsh.
• Mammillaria multiceps var. perpusilla Meinsh.
• Mammillaria prolifera var. perpusilla (Meinsh.) B.Hofmann
• Mammillaria prolifera subs. texana (Engelm.) D.R.Hunt
• Cactus stellatus var. texanus (Engelm.) J.M.Coult.
• Cactus texanus (Engelm.) Small
• Escobariopsis prolifera subs. texana (Engelm.) Doweld
• Mammillaria multiceps var. texana (Engelm.) F.M.Knuth
• Mammillaria prolifera var. texana (Engelm.) Borg
• Mammillaria prolifera f. texana (Engelm.) Krainz
• Mammillaria pusilla var. texana Engelm.
• Mammillaria pusilla f. texana (Engelm.) Schelle
• Mammillaria texana (Engelm.) Poselg.
• Neomammillaria prolifera var. texana (Engelm.) Y.Itô

• Mammillaria prolifera subs. zublerae (Repp.) D.R.Hunt
• Escobariopsis prolifera subs. zublerae (Repp.) Doweld
• Mammillaria zublerae Repp.
• Mammillaria cielensis Mart.-Aval., Golubov, S.Arias & Villarreal

Description: Plant forming large mats of cylindrical stems with small, succulent leaves and white spines, often consisting of hundreds of individual segments. It is small in size, and can reach 15 cm in height, but it can grow up to more than a meter in diameter.
Leaves: The foliage is formed by a dense mass of dark green, cylindrical and almost needle-like leaves. It keeps its leaves in the winter.
Flowers: Remarkably beautiful, large, soft, satiny, lemon-yellow.
Blooming season: Late spring.

Notes: Closest relatives: Maihuenias are very strange and unusual cacti that in earlier literature were supposed to be related to Opuntia, Pereskia and Pereskiopsis, but DNA sequencing of this group has determined that Maihuenia is not related to any of those.

Cultivation and Propagation: Maihuenia poeppigiiSN|11620]]SN|11620]] is an easy-to-grow plant, it is a surprisingly moisture-tolerant cactus, is said also to be reliably cold-hardy in central Europe and England. Of the two species Maihuenia poeppegii is the hardiest species and it can survive outside in the garden in the sunny rockery on a sheltered place, but only if it's protected with a sheet of glass during the wintertime. It is also very good for a large pot which can be stored inside an unheated greenhouse or on a balcony, somewhat protected from moisture during the winter, but is probably safest to grow it in the Alpine House or in a raised bed inside an unheated greenhouse all year around, with lots of ventilation.. It doesn't fear cold weather and it bears very harsh frost, and temperatures of around -10° (or less down to -20° if dry) degrees Celsius did not harm these plants at all. They should not be kept hot in summer as they are from high elevations. during the beautiful season it’s good to enrich the soil of our succulent plants; using a fertilizer rich in potassium and phosphorous, but poor in nitrogen, because this chemical element doesn’t help the development of succulent plants, making them too soft and full of water. For a balanced development, it is best to position the the Maihuenia poeppigiiSN|11620]]SN|11620]] in a place where it is exposed to at least a few hours of direct sunlight. Water these plants only from time to time if grown outdoors, but it should be watered abundantly if grown in a pot or in the greenhouse, during the summer. The spring weather, with a high temperature swing between the day and night hours, and pretty frequent rains, can favour the development of fungus diseases, which should be treated pre-emptively with a systemic fungicide. We suggest repotting every 2-3 years.
This species can also be grown anchored without soil on a roof (like for the sempervivums).