Cipocereus bradei is a columnar cactus with black spines that disappear as stems age. it is quite floriferous, both in habitat and cultivation. The flowers are blue outside and white within. The dark, globose fruits appear intense glaucous blue.

Shares its mountainous habitat (1190 m) with Uebelmannia pectinifera v. eriocactoides (RNK99) in Brazil's Sierra do Espinhaço. This remarkable sympatry showcases two botanical treasures thriving in the same quartzitic outcrops.