The cactus has 8 to 13 straight or twisted ribs, each divided into crookedly truncated cusps up to 1.5 centimeters high.

The central spines are brightly colored, white or reddish in the middle, or red at the base and yellow at the tip, gradually becoming grayish with age.

[3] These plants are primarily found in the northern Chihuahuan desert in Texas and Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas) at elevations of 800-2200 meters.

They typically grow on flat gravelly soils, limestone or sandstone slopes of hills or outcrops, and alluvial fans in desert or grassland environments.

[5] The specific epithet "bicolor" comes from Latin, meaning 'two-colored,' and refers to the two-colored flowers of the species.