[1] The greatest range of the jumping cholla is the entirety of Sonora, except the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera on the east and northern California, including the major islands of Tiburon and Isla Ángel de la Guarda.

Young branches are covered with 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄6 inches) silvery-yellow spines, which darken to a gray color with age.

Flowers are white and pink, streaked with lavender, and are roughly 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide.

They are typically about 4 cm (1+1⁄2 inches) long, often producing flowers the following year which add new fruits to those of previous seasons.

Often the merest touch will leave a person with bits of cactus hanging on their clothes to be discovered later when either sitting or leaning on them.

Extinct, hairy megafauna may have played a role in their historic, more widespread dispersal in this manner.