Xerophyte

Flowers

Diurnal, with a very unusual chocolate scent, produced on lateral mid stems, but sometime lower, very similar in colour and shape to those of Echinocereus viridiflorus var. chloranthusSN|21863]]SN|7770]], funnelform, not opening widely, 25-32 mm long, 15-25 mm in diameter, yellowish green to bronze-green. Filaments pale yellow or greenish. Anthers cream coloured or yellow. Stile greenish with 8-10 dark green stigma lobes.

Spines

Partially or mostly obscuring the stem, often crowded, interlocking with spines from other areoles, needle-like, usually all radial, but mature specimens may occasionally produce a single dark reddish-purple central spine 1-1,2 mm long.

Stem

Spherical to shortly cylindrical, but usually more compact than in Echinocereus viridiflorusSN|11071]]SN|11071]], erect, pale or yellowish-green.

Radial Spines

25-30 or more, tightly appressed, evenly radiating around the areoles and more or less pectinate, creamy-white to clear yellowish, glassy, the upper ones thin, shorter and weaker 2-3 mm long, length increases around areole; laterals to 6 mm long, lower ones slightly shorter, straight or slightly curved. All the spines has a bulbous base but usually covered, until they are very old, by the wool of the areoles.

Areoles

Oval to elongate covered with much white or yellowish wool when young, bare when old except for very small tuft at upper end of areole where flower is produced.