The expanded marginal spines are whitish to yellowish, darker at their tip and 0.8 to 2 centimeters long.

The spherical to egg-shaped fruits are 3 to 4 centimeters long and covered with humps that carry perennial wool and thorns.

[2] Cephalocereus mezcalaensis is found in the Mexican states of Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca and Puebla.

It lives in tropical deciduous forests and xeric scrublands, on limestone soils, at elevations of 400 to 2000 m above sea level.

The specific epithet mezcalaensis refers to the occurrence of the species in the valley of the Río Mezcala in the Mexican state of Guerrero.