| General Description | A beautiful grey-green and purple low spreading shrub or small tree with prominent tubercles and large stunning flowers in a variety of colours. |
| Cultivation | Deep sandy soils. |
| Habitat | Canyons, washes and valleys in the desert at an altitude of 600-900 m. Commonly found in the Arizona Desert. |
| Leaf Description | Conic-cylindroid leaves 19 mm long. Spines are a reddish or grey colour, 7-10 per areole and spread in all directions, 0.6-1.5 cm in length. |
| Flower Description | Large flowers, 3-5.5 cm in diameter, a variety of colours; red, lavender, magenta, rose-purple, yellow, green, bronze, brown or orange. Red, green, lavender, purple or chocolate filaments, 6 mm in length and yellow anthers 1.5 mm long. |
| Fruit Description | Usually green however can have a purple, lavender or red hue, fleshy, spineless, obovoid, 2.5-4.5 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter. |