[2] Lobivia cinnabarina grows singly with flattened, spherical, bright green shoots that reach a diameter of up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in).

The bell-shaped, funnel-shaped scarlet flowers appear on the side or on the shoot shoulder and open during the day.

[3] Lobivia cinnabarina is widespread in the Bolivian departments of Cochabamba, Potosí and Chuquisaca, in the Andes at elevations between 2500 and 3400 meters.

[4] The specific epithet cinnabarina comes from Latin, means 'vermilion red' and refers to the color of the flowers.

Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the species in the genus Lobivia in 1922.