| General Description | Erect, low shrub with few spreading branches at acute and obtuse angles, greenish grey in colour. |
| Cultivation | Dry, rocky or gravelly soils. |
| Habitat | Hillsides and ridges in the upper parts of the dessert at an altitude of 750-1,050 m. Commonly found in the Arizona and Mojavean Deserts. |
| 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. Few spines which do not obscure the stem, 6-11 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 to sparse 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. |