Harrisia adscendens grows as a shrub with rich, sparsely branched, initially upright, later overhanging or spreading shoots and forms a striking trunk.

The four to ten strong, yellowish to grayish thorns, thickened at their base, have a darker tip and are 1 to 3 centimeters long.

[2] Harrisia adscendens is widespread in northeastern Brazil from the state of Bahia to the south of Ceará and Paraíba at altitudes of 50 to 700 meters.

[4] The specific epithet adscendens comes from Latin, means 'ascending' and refers to the growth habit of the species.

[5] Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Harrisia in 1920.