With a hemispherical stem 12-inches tall and wide and usually almost buried, this small barrel cactus is viciously armed with rigid spines. Note the spike-like central spine and the stem with 13–27 prominent ribs with narrow (not rounded) crests, and short wool on the apex.

FLOWER: April, May. Delicate, rosy-pink to salmon-colored flowers, 2–2 3/8-inches wide (5–6 cm), circle the apex and close by early afternoon; filaments pinkish, anthers yellowish, stigma lobes white to pinkish. Clusters of bright red, fleshy, egg-shaped fruit, 5/8-2-inches in diameter, crowd the apex, and are not covered with wool.

SPINES: Each areole has a single rigid, erect central spine and 6–7  spreading radial spines. Most spines are curved, flat to round, and cross-robbed with rings. Pity the animal, or hiker, that steps on the 1 1/2–2 1/2-inch long (3.8–6.3 cmm) central spine. Spines don’t hide the stem.

HABITAT: Arid sandy, limestone soils; desert grasslands and scrub.

ELEVATION: 3,000–4,300 feet.

RANGE: NM, OK, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Devil’s Head Cactus, E. horizonthalonius, in the same range, has 8 broadly-rounded ribs and fruit hidden by long, woolly tufts at maturity.

NM COUNTIES: Southeast quarter of NM in low-elevation, arid habitats: Chaves, Eddy Lea, Roosevelt.