A tree 7-15 ft. high, trunk becoming naked and cylindrical below, 8-12 ins. diam. sometimes also with 1-3 trunk-like branches; secondary branches very much curved in the basal half then ascending, 4-6 ft. long, 2-3 ins. in diam., 3-5-angled, the greater proportion being 4-angled, deeply constricted into segments 2-6 ins. long, with rounded outline, or the longer segments tapering upwards, or with parallel sides, dark green turning greyish with age; angles prominent, wing-like, 24 mm thick at the margin, straight or sinuate-toothed; leaves 3-4 mm. long, 3 1/2-4 1/2 mm broad, obtuse glabrous, soon deciduous, sessile; spines stout, 5-15 mm long in pairs 9-18 mm apart, widely horizontally diverging, becoming grey; spine-shield united into a broad continuous horny, brown or greyish margin to the angles; peduncles 2-3 together, 2-3 mm long, 4-7 mm above the spines, surrounded by the horny spine shields, each producing 3 involucres, the middle male, the laterals bisexual, glabrous; bracts scale like, 1-2 mm long; involucres about 4 mm diam., cup-shaped, glabrous, with 5 glands and 5 small ciliate lobes; glands 1 1/2-2 mm in their greater diam., transversely oblong, slightly wrinkled, contiguous, yellow; ovary sessile, glabrous; styles united into a column 1-2 mm long with spreading bifid branches; capsule 5-7 mm diam., obtusely 3-lobed, glabrous.
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