[2] Cochemiea phitauiana sprouts from the base and forms small groups.

The 4 central spines are straight, white with dark tips, and 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long.

The spherical or club-shaped fruits are red and up to 1 centimeter long, containing black seeds.

[4] First described in 1931 by Edgar Martin Baxter as Neomammillaria phitauiana who found this species east of Todos Santos, Sierra de la Laguna, the specific epithet honors the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, to which Baxter belonged.

[5] In 2000, Alexander Borissovitch Doweld reclassified the species into the genus Cochemiea.