| General Description | An eye catching shrub with its compact and vigorous branches and brown to grey spines. Few spreading branches at acute angles. |
| Cultivation | Sandy and gravelly soils. |
| Habitat | Flats and hillsides of the desert at an altitude of 300-900 m. Often found in the Colorado Desert. |
| Leaf Description | Spines are a tan to pale yellow colour which turn brown then black as they mature, straight, long and spread in all directions, 1.2-3 cm in length. Dense spines which obscure the stem, 15-25 spines per areole. |
| Flower Description | 4-5.5 cm in diameter, a greenish yellow in colour with purplish veins and purplish tips, filaments, 9-12 mm in length and red in colour with yellow anthers. |
| Fruit Description | Dense fruit falls in late summer or autumn. Seeds are a light tan or off white colour, flat with an irregular angle; 5-8 x 3-5 mm. |