Vegetative characteristics

The caudex is at most 7 cm high, typically unbranched, unless in montane areas. The rosettes are mostly solitary, 4 to 18 cm wide, with 10 to 22 crowded leaves, but up to 30 in cultivation. The rosette leaves are typically farinose, but may sometimes present as green. The leaves are triangular-lanceolate to oblong-obovate, acute to acuminate, and often apiculate. The leaves measure 3 to 10 cm long, 1.5 to 3 cm wide, 2 to 4 mm thick, flattish, but also channeled ventrally. The base of the leaves are 1 to 2 cm wide, with the margins becoming acute near the base, obtuse to rounded above.^[2]

Reproductive characteristics

The peduncle is 10 to 30 cm tall to the cyme, 1.5 to 5mm thick, colored pink to red and often glaucous, with a variable shape depending on the subspecies. The lower 2 to 12 cm of the peduncle is bare, with 5 to 23 bracts starting above, ascending, triangular-ovate to -lanceolate, with the lower bracts 4 to 30 mm long, 3 to 12 mm wide. The cyme is commonly pinkish and glaucous, composed of 2 to 3 branches that bifurcate up to two times. The cincinni have 4 to 24 flowers, and in cultivation they open at intervals of 2 to 5 days, staying open for 5 to 6 days.^[2]

Inflorescence of the montane form with pendent flowers and erect fruits, Sierra de las Cacachilas.

The pedicels are pinkish, and variable in behavior based on the subspecies, 8 to 25 mm long, but becoming up to 40mm long in cultivation. Pedicels are also 1 to 1.5mm thick at the base, thickening upwards. Plants flower in December through April, and in anthesis and fruit the pedicels become more or less erect. The calyx is green to red in coloration, 3 to 6 mm long, 4 to 6 mm wide, sub-truncate to rounded below, with the disk 4 to 5 mm wide. The sinuses on the calyx are sometimes U-shaped at anthesis, and V-shaped to closed. The segments of the calyx are deltoid, acute, 2 to 5 mm long, 2 to 3.5 mm wide. The segments are commonly erect or ascending at anthesis, with tips 0.5 to 2 mm from the corolla. The tips usually become appressed after anthesis, but may become appressed at anthesis in the montane forms.^[2]

The corolla is pyramidal with the sides nearly flat, 7 to 10 mm long, and elongating by 1 to 1.5 mm during anthesis, 4 to 6 mm wide at the base, becoming often wide than the calyx disk, 2.5 to 4mm wide at the apex, and colored a yellow to mostly orange or coral red, with the keels glaucous. The tube is 2.5 to 5.5 mm long. The segments are oblong, obtuse to broadly acute, 1.5 to 2.5 mm wide. The filaments are not quite cylindrical in cross section, light yellow, 5 to 8 mm long from the corolla base, adnate 2 to 4 mm. The anthers are oblong-lanceolate, 1.5 to 2 mm long, 0.6 to 0.7 mm wide, light yellow. Nectar glands are white, around 0.25 mm high, 1 to 1.5 mm wide, 0.3 to 0.5 mm thick radially. The gynoecium is 5 to 9 mm high, 2.5 to 3 mm thick, with the pistils erect, appressed, and connate to around 0.5 to 1.0 mm, greenish, with the ovaries oblong and tapering rather abruptly to yellowish or reddish styles 1 to 1.5 mm long. There are 50 to 110 ovules, around 0.5 mm long and 0.2 mm thick. The seeds are brown, narrowly ovoid, acute, longitudinally striated, and roughly 0.5 to 0.7 mm long.^[2]

The chromosome count is 17.^[2][3]