There are 17 to 20 sharp-edged and spirally arranged ribs, which are divided into cusps.

Reddish to horn-colored, prickly thorns emerge from them and turn gray with age.

The shiny violet-pink flowers, yellow in the flaviflora variety, appear near the top of the shoot and open during the day.

Lobivia tiegeliana is widespread in the Bolivian department of Tarija and the Argentine province of Salta at altitudes of 1900 to 3300 meters.

The specific epithet tiegeliana honors the German cactus lover and mammalian specialist Ernst Tiegel (1879–1936).