Body solitary or in groups, more or less cylindrical. Tubercles forming about 10-14 spirals. Areoles with central spines 1-4; radials 7-14, 4-5 mm long, becoming white with a brown tip and eventually white. Flowers to 3 cm long. Pericarpel with 7-8 scales with a solid tube having scales with axillary hairs. Perianth segments red, orange or dark purple; stamens with white filaments; styles pink.
NW Argentina
Related species include the Bolivian R. kupperiana Boed. which has purplish stems, brown spines and deep red flowers, and R. spegazziniana Backeb. from NW Argentina which has prominent ribs and deep red flowers.
Source: (1997). Cactaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
