i did it! i enrolled in a french tour of the greenhouses (the info
point clerk didn't speak any english btw... and asked if i was anglaise. :D) at nantes, jardin des plantes and found out which genus
and
species my cactus at home belongs to.
may i present you the humble mammillaria hahniana (old lady cactus???).
(the lowest plants have the same coloring of the needles, white dipped into brown. a major point why i was never sure of the classification when looking at other people's photos.)
the tour was btw for free. as i didn't understand much of it i had more time inspecting the plants and could have taken more photos if i wasn't so intensely trying to find the right species. anyway we only visited the cacti and succulents house plus the rainforest house (no pictures there, intermittent "rain" ensured that). the rainforest greenhouse was awesome inside but it looked very sick from outside - all glasses were brown and muddy. apparently it was from some bacteria
which was growing on some leaves as well or maybe algae that was good for the plants.
too bad we were there too early for la folie des plantes -
(and that the airplant shop was en vacances)
my happy cactus :)
(though still not that happy - not yet flowering after a year and two summers...)
äitisuomennos: kaktuksen lajike tiedossa!
kaktukset.blogspot.fi: mammillaria hahniana