Xerophyte

Central Spines

0(-3) per areole, if 1, erect, if 2, ascending-spreading, 8-20 mm long.

Stigma

3-7, green or yellowish, 1-5 mm.

Roots

Diffuse or short taproots, sometimes adventitious from bases of branches.

Tubercles

5-21 soft; areolar glands absent.

Flowers

Nearly apical, 18-50 mm long, 15-50 mm wide tepals, fringed (rarely entire), pale greenish yellow to yellow-green, with midstripes of green or rose-pink to pale brown.

Spines

6-21 per areole, slightly pubescent, bright white, pale grey, or pale tan, weathering to grey or yellowish brown, dark brownish orange to pale brown or pale greyish pink tips present on all or only the largest plants.

Stem

Deep-seated in substrate, becoming flat-topped and nearly subterranean in winter, 2-8 wide, 1-10 cm tall.

Fruits

Bright orange-red to scarlet when mature, spheric to egg-shaped, up to 3 cm long and 5-10 mm in diameter, slightly succulent but not juicy, floral remnant weakly persistent, often lost through weathering. Edible, said tu be pleasantly sour.

Habit

Unbranched or profusely branched (eastern populations) and occasionally forming clumps up to 30 cm in diameter.

Filaments

Brighter pink than inner tepals, pinkish with greenish white bases, or uniformly whitish.

Anthers

Bright yellow.

Blooming Season

Flowers in summer during the day.

Radial Spines

6-20 per areole, moderately to tightly appressed, 4-16 mm

Areoles

With short white wool, not obscuring the basal portion of the spine.