Xerophyte

Seeds

Elongated, about 1 mm long.

Flowers

Light brick-red, darker inside, funnel-shaped, about 30 mm long and 25-30 mm wide. Ovary c. 3 mm wide, pale olive green, covered with white triangular scales, with 3 mm long, thin, flexible, twisted, white bristles and hair in their axils. Floral tube slender cylindrical, about 10 mm long and 3 mm wide, pale greenish, covered with 1-2 mm long scales. Outer perianth segments, lanceolate with sharply pointed tip, 5-15 mm long and 1-4 mm wide, the smallest (lowermost) pale greenish, the larger with orange median stripe and purple-reddish tips. Inner perianth segments c.10 mm long and 5 mm wide, brick red with vermilion red middle stripe. Filaments white, thin, 6-10 mm long, anthers small, spherical, yellow. Pistil white, thread-like, fused with the base of the tube for about 5 mm, with 5-6 stigma lobes about 3 mm long.

Spines

Numerous, fine, bristle-like, hardly distinguishable as radial and central, whitish. Central spines 5-6 somewhat stronger and longer, with brownish tip. Radial spines fine whitish to 10 mm long.

Ribs

About 25, low, divided in small conical tubercles.

Stem

Solitary later forming cushions, the individual stems rather flat to spherical, up to 40 mm wide, light green, crown somewhat depressed, filled with spines.

Fruits

Small, spherical, 3-4 mm wide, covered in scales, hair and bristles.

Areoles

Closely set, round, about 1.5 mm wide, whitish to brownish tomentose.