Xerophyte

Central Spines

1 or 2, light reddish brown, straight or pointing slightly downward, lower one stoutest, to 7 mm long.

Note

The Latin epithet 'rutilans', 'reddish-orange', presumably refers to the the colour of the spination.

Flowers

Salmon, rose or carmine red, with dark tips, buttercup yellow inside, throat paler, 3-4 cm long, to 6 cm in diameter. Pericarpels and floral tubes with white wool and reddish brown bristles.

Ribs

18-24, running spirally and divided by deep furrows, with small chinlike humps.

Stem

Globose, to slightly elongate or shortly cylindrical in age, dull bluish green to bright green, to 5 cm high.

Radial Spines

14-16, diverging, white to yellowish or gray, with darker tips, to 5 mm long.

Fruits

Up to 1.5 cm long.

Areoles

Densely white woolly, later less so.