  
 
Parodia is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. The genus is named after the Argentine botanist Lorenzo Raimundo Parodi who lived from 1895 to 1966. Flowers in all species arise from fuzzy buds, typically with bristles, at the apex. Flowers are cup-shaped and point straight up. They are easy to grow, have intriguing stems and spines and flower easily with brightly-coloured flowers. This fact in combination with their relatively small size, ensure that nearly all cactus growers will have some representative of this group. While advanced hobbyists may grow many of the various species and subspecies.   
  The genus has about 50 species, many of which have been transferred from Eriocactus, Notocactus and Wigginsia. They are native to the uplands of Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay and range from small globose plants to 1 meter tall columnar cacti. All are deeply ribbed and spiny, with single flowers at or near the crown.
 Some species produce offsets at the base and most are free flowering, with stunning blooms throughout the year. These cacti are perfect for rockeries, where they will give your garden splashes of colour or as pot plants on a sunny windowsill. Either way you are assured of many years of joy.
Parodia mammulosa previously known as Notocactus orthacanthus is distributed throughout southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina. Its common names include Tom Thumb and Lemon Ball. The species name 'mammulosa' refers to this species having many visible nipples. This plant was first described as Echinocactus orthacanthus by Link and Otto, in 1827, when most globular Cacti were called Echinocactus. Later, in 1954, it was moved into the genus Malacocarpus, by Herter, to become Malacocarpus orthacanthus and then more recently, when van Vliet re-discovered plants in Uruguay that matched with the original description, was renamed again, in 1970, as Notocactus orthacanthus by Van Vliet, when the genus Malacocarpus was reduced to a subgenus of Notocactus. More recently it has been lumped together with Parodia.
  
 
  
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