It features a solitary, flattened-globose to slightly depressed stem with a light green to grey-green epidermis, split into distinct tuberculate ribs.
Like all mature Discocactus species, it develops a specialized flowering head at the apex called a cephalium. This structure is a dense cushion of wool intermixed with small, dark bristle-like spines.
It produces highly fragrant, tubular to funnel-shaped white flowers that open exclusively at night. The blooming season occurs during the warm summer months, with flowers emerging directly out of the cephalium.
