Species of Pereskiopsis do not have the typical appearance of most cacti, including those in the subfamily Opuntioideae to which it belongs, since they have persistent fleshy leaves.

Their leaves are flat, succulent and generally long-lasting, and of various shapes, including elliptical and almost round.

The characteristic areoles of cacti are present, and usually have glochids marking them as members of the Opuntioideae as well as needle-like spines.

Pereskia is named after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, a 16th-century French botanist.

A 2016 molecular phylogenetic study of the tribe suggested the relationships shown in the following cladogram, where the genera Quiabentia and Pereskiopsis are basal to the main clade of Grusonia and Cylindropuntia.