Shrubs or arborescent or small trees, 2- 4 (- 5) m tall, trunk 15 – 20 cm in diameter, terete. Branches segment green, flattened, elliptic – narrowly obovate, 10 – 20 (-40) cm long, 5 – 7 (-12) cm wide, smooth, entire, rounded basally and apically. Areoles white, 2 – 5 mm in diameter, wool tawny, whitening with age. Spines usually absent, rarely with 1-3 per areole, short, 3 – 9 mm long, acicular, greyish, mostly developed on mature ones. Glochidia brown, early deciduous or inconspicuous. Leaves subulate, 3- 4 mm long, early caducous. Flowers many, somewhat terminal, bright scarlet 1.2 – 1.5 cm across, 5 – 6 cm long. Perianth erect. Outer tepals sepaloid green, with red or green midrib, largest one ovate – deltoid, 5 – 10 (-12) mm long, 5- 8 (-9) mm wide, entire, acute. Inner tepals petaloids, bright red, spathulate or ovate – obovate, 10-12 (-15) mm long, 0.5 - 1 cm wide, entire or undulate, subobtuse – acute. Stamens erect, exserted, much longer than the perianth, red – pink, filaments 3 – 4 cm long, pinkish, anthers ca 1.5 cm, yellow. Style pink, 4 – 4.5 cm long. Stigma yellow, 6 – 7 lobed, shortly exerted beyond stamens, ca 3 mm long. Fruits ellipsoid, red, 3 – 5 cm long, 2 – 2.5 (-3) cm wide, umbilicus. Seeds gray or tannish, thickened, discoid, 3 – 5 mm long, 1.5 – 3 mm in diameter.