[2] Matucana madisoniorum usually grows solitarily and only rarely sprouts with flattened, spherical to broadly columnar, cloudy grey-green shoots and reaches a height of up to 15 cm (5.9 in) with a diameter of 10 cm (3.9 in).

They have up to five blackish-brown, curved, flexible and slightly falling spines, which can also be absent, turn gray with age, up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long.

[3] Matucana madisoniorum is found in the Peruvian Amazonas Department northeast of the city of Bagua in the valley of the Río Marañón at altitudes of 400 to 1000 meters.

The first description as Borzicactus madisoniorum was in 1963 by Paul Clifford Hutchison.

Other nomenclature synonyms are Submatucana madisoniorum (Hutchison) Backeb.