[3] Dr. Lyman Benson named this species for North American cactus expert Dorde Wright Woodruff, who initially discovered it in 1961 and brought it to the attention of Dr.

It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from Emery, Sevier, Wayne, and Garfield Counties.

It is usually fine or sandy in texture and there is a large amount of material scattered on the land, including pebbles, gravel, and fossil oyster shells.

The cactus also suffers from natural predation by the beetle Moneilema semipunctatum which has been exacerbated by climate change.

Small mammals such as Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii) and White-tailed antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) may eat the cactus.