- columnar cactus with stems usually 8 inches tall or less
- stems often reddish-brown, with 10-14 "ribs" or ridges
- spines pale with darker tips, rather short, not concealing stem
- flowers pink with maroon center
- occurs in thornscrub on gravelly calcareous soils in Starr, Zapata, Webb and Jim Hogg counties
- also in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas
