Rhodocactus sacharosa grows as a small tree or a shrub, reaching 5–7 m (16–23 ft) high.

The fleshy fruits are more or less globe-shaped or pear-shaped, 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) long and wide, green or yellowish when ripe.

Molecular phylogenetic studies from 2005 onwards suggested that with this circumscription, Pereskia was not monophyletic, and consisted of three clades.

[4] Rhodocactus sacharosa is native to Bolivia and west-central Brazil southwards to Paraguay and northern Argentina.

[2] It occurs at elevations of 1,000–2,500 m (3,300–8,200 ft) in the foothills of the Andes and the semiarid Gran Chaco region.