The baseline skin color is a rich, moody deep violet, maroon-purple, or dark grape color. Under ideal light stress, the purple tones intensify, making the light "zebra" stripes pop even more dramatically.
It features 8 to 14 very sharp, prominent ribs. The narrow edges of the ribs create a highly geometric, star-like silhouette when viewed from above.
Like standard friedrichii, it has minimal, short, slightly curved radial spines that sit tightly against the flesh. When mature, it produces satiny, fully opening purplish-pink flowers from the apical crown.
