Spiny green cactus with variable white spots from the Chihuahuan Desert in northern Mexico. Globose to cylindrical stems grow up to 4-6 inches in diameter. Spines are yellow to brown, turning gray with age, twisted or curled, flattened, somewhat flexible. Flowers are yellow with a red center. Fruit is scaly and hairy.

May be distinguished from the similar but generally larger A. ornatum based on flower color (yellow with a red center, instead of all yellow), spines (curved and twisted, thinner, without a clear central spine), and origin (central Coahuila or northwestern Nuevo León, not further south or west). Young plants of the two species may be very difficult to tell apart, but ornatum seems to be much more common in cultivation.

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