Shrubs, decumbent to commonly trailing, 0.3–1 m. Stem segments not disarticulating, green to dark green, sometimes reddish under stress, flattened, obovate to circular, 10–25 × 7–20 cm, low tuberculate, glabrous; areoles 5–7 per diagonal row across midstem segment, obovate to elliptic, 3–6 × 2–4 mm; wool tan to brown, aging grayish. Spines (0–)2–8 per areole, at most areoles to only distal 1/4 of stem segment, or essentially absent, brown to white, straight, curved, or spirally twisted; major central spines deflexed or spreading, brown to red-brown (to blackish), or partly to wholly gray to tan, subulate, usually flattened near base, 30–80 mm; abaxial spines usually 1–3, deflexed, white, flattened, shorter, to 20 mm. Glochids dense in crescent at adaxial edge of areole and subapical tuft, tan to red-brown, to 5 mm. Flowers: inner tepals yellow with red basal portions (rarely entirely pink to red), 30–40 mm; filaments greenish basally, pale yellow to white distally; anthers yellow; style white; stigma lobes green to yellow-green. Fruits wine red to purple, with greenish flesh (sometimes reddish and ± juicy), not long stipitate, obovate to barrel-shaped, 30–50 × 20–30 mm, fleshy, glabrous, spineless; areoles 18–24. Seeds tan, subcircular, 4–5 mm diam., evidently notched, warped; girdle protruding 1 mm. 2n = 66.