[2] Armatocereus cartwrightianus grows as a shrub or tree and reaches heights of up to 12 meters.

The needle-like, brown thorns later turn white and have a darker tip.

[3] Armatocereus cartwrightianus is distributed on dry coastal plains in southern Ecuador and northern Peru.

The first description as Lemaireocereus cartwrightianus by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose was published in 1920.

Other nomenclature synonyms include Cereus cartwrightianus (Britton & Rose) Werderm.