The cylindrical, fresh green, upright or creeping trunks with an erect shoot tip have 14 - 17 ribs and reach about 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter.

The areoles, from which the yellowish to brownish, needle-like spines arise, reach a diameter of up to 1 cm (0.39 in).

The spherical to egg-shaped fruits are yellowish green or reddish and reach a diameter of up to 3 cm (1.2 in).

[4] It has 2 accepted subspecies; Soehrensia huascha is widespread in the northwest of Argentina in the provinces of Catamarca and La Rioja and grows at altitudes of 500 to 2000 meters.

[5] The specific epithet huascha is derived from a local Argentine word meaning orphan.