This is a succulent shrub that tends to grow to about 700cm tall.
The crown of branches grow from a very short stem, they grow outwards and then upwards creating a candelabra shape.
The swollen branches looked like they have been pinched in regularly along their entire length.
They have four, sometimes five sides with evenly spaced double headed spines along each ridge.
Red flowers are along the ridges towards the tip of the branches.
The red button shaped flower is in fact a group of fused bracts, an incomplete yellow male flower and a single yellow female flower.
These make an attractive addition to a rockery, probably not great for family gardens and the spines are very sharp.