Arizona Fishhook Cactus (Mammillaria microcarpa) is the most common fishhook cactus in Arizona found in desert scrub land, grassland, woodland to 4,500 feet elevation. It has pink flowers with light pink edges, darker pink centers and green stigmas that appear in the spring and summer. The flowers are followed by long, thin, red fruits. Plants may be solitary or part of small clusters; stems are between 1 and 2.5 inches wide and reach a maximum height of 6 inches. Spines are short but numerous; 26 to 33 per areole, mostly bristly white radial spines but with 1, 2 or 3 longer and more central spines that are dark red-brown in color and strongly hooked at the end. Areoles are at the end of tubercles which are fairly well visible through the spines, unlike the more densely covered Mammillaria tetrancistra. Click the photo at bottom right to see that the tubercles are clearly visible. These photos were taken on the Arizona Trail South of Kelvin on January 15, 2016.