Erect, spiny shrub, up to 1 m high. Stems whitish grey, smooth; nodes many-budded, swollen, below with a sharp recurved spine 5-10 mm long. Cladodes ± 8 a fascicle, ± 10-25 mm long, greyish green. Flowers white or pale cream.
Ovary ellipsoid with ±8 ovules per locule. Berry one-seeded, red.