Very small globose, white cactus from the Chihuahuan Desert, up to about 1-2 inches in diameter. Variable, with several described former subspecies. The color is due to numerous small, delicately ornamental spines. Flowers are white or pink; fruit is bright red, with black seeds. Stem tips may be somewhat depressed. Spine color may vary to orange-brown or reddish brown in certain populations. May be solitary or offsetting. Somewhat frost tolerant.

Found in a wide area, from southeastern Arizona into New Mexico and west Texas, extending into Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí in Mexico. Epithelantha as it is currently recognized is a genus with 2 species (E. bokei looks very similar). The genus name means "flowers upon the tubercles" and the species name means "made of small parts". Epithelantha may appear similar to Mammillaria, but the flowers come from the tubercles, not the axils (thus the genus name).

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