Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis shows thin, upright, tree-like, slightly shrunken cladodes on a central cylindrical trunk reaches a height of 20 meters (or more); the tallest member of the Opuntia subfamily.

The light to dark green end segments are rhomboid to ovoid, of unequal shape, narrow at the base and produce leaf-like shoots or flax sprouts.

[3] The spherical to pear-shaped to elongated, fleshy fruits are yellow, orange-red, red or purple, have a diameter of 3 to 4 centimeters and bear striking tufts of dark brown glochids.

[4] It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, Peru and northern Argentina, and has become naturalized in Florida among other places.

The distinctive features of the species were recognized by Karl Schumann in 1898 when he created a subgenus Brasiliopuntia within the genus Opuntia.