It is a small globular cactus of an opaque bluish-green color, equipped with yellow variegations that make each specimen unique, never the same. This cactus is quite different from the other Gymnocalyciums, this plant has little marked ribs, on which large oval, downy whitish areoles protrude. From these areoles small, thin and slightly twisted spines develop, always of a white color. Its funnel-shaped inflorescences, pleasantly tinged with pink, have a silky sheen.