Trees, with short trunks, or large shrubs, widely branching, (1-)1.5-2.5(-5) m. Stem segments firmly attached, whorled or subwhorled, gray-green, cylindric to weakly clavate, 10-40 × 1.5-4 cm; tubercles very prominent, widely spaced, (1.5-)2-5 cm; areoles elliptic, 5-8 × 3-4 mm; wool yellow to tan, aging gray to black. Spines (5-)8-15(-30) per areole or spineless to nearly spineless, usually at most areoles, not obscuring stems, spreading, straight or slightly curved, silver to yellow to usually ± red or tan to brown, stout, terete or sometimes flattened basally, 8-30(-40) mm subequal; sheaths silver to yellow to usually tan to dirty white, yellow tipped. Glochids in dense adaxial tuft, pale yellow, 0.5-3 mm. Flowers: inner tepals dark pink to magenta to red-magenta, obovate, apiculate, 15-35 mm; filaments green basally to pink to magenta distally; anthers yellow; style light green basally or pink to red-magenta apically; stigma lobes green or cream. Fruits not proliferating, yellow, obovoid, 24-45 × 20-40 mm, fleshy, tuberculate, spineless; areoles 18-30; tubercles nearly equal in length or longer in proximal portion of fruit, prominent (occasionally smooth at maturity); umbilicus 7-14 mm deep. Seeds yellow-tan, subcircular to angled, warped, 2.5-4 mm diam., sides smooth to slightly lumpy; girdle usually narrow, not protruding.
Plant: tree or shrub, (1-)1.5-2.5(-3) m tall; STEM segments gray-green, cylindric to weakly clavate, 8-25 cm long, 1.5-4 cm in diam.; tubercles very prominent, widely spaced, (1.5-)2-5 cm long. AREOLES yellow-tan-felty, aging gray to black, elliptic, 5-8 mm long, 3-4 mm wide Leaves: SPINES usually at most areoles, silver to yellow to usually reddish to tan to brown, not obscuring the stem, stout, terete or sometimes flattened basally, spreading, straight or slightly curved, (0-)8-15(-30) per areole, 8-30(-40) mm long; sheaths silver to yellow to usually tan to dirty-white, yellow-tipped. GLOCHIDS pale yellow, in dense apical tuft, 0.5-3 mm long Flowers: inner tepals dark pink to magenta to red-magenta, obovate, apiculate, 1.5-3.5 cm long; filaments green basally to pink to magenta apically, the anthers yellow; style light green basally to pink to red-magenta apically; stigmas green to cream Fruit: yellow, fleshy, obovoid, spineless, 2.4-4.5 cm long, 2-4 cm in diam., the tubercles subequal, prominent but occasionally smooth at maturity, the umbilicus 7-14 mm deep; areoles 18-30; SEEDS 2.5-4 mm diam., yellow-tan, subcircular to angled, warped, sides smooth to slightly lumpy, the girdle usually narrow, not protruding REFERENCES: Pinkava, Donald J. 1999. Cactaceae. Ariz. – Nev. Acad. Sci. 32(1).