Native to the West Indies, coastal northern South America, and Panama, Barbados gooseberry is frequently grown as an ornamental or for its fruits in the American tropics, Bermuda, California, Hawaii, Israel, the Philippines, India, and Australia. A member of the cactus family, the plant does not fit the standard cactus mold. It is an erect woody shrub when young, which with age begins vining and climbing with spiny branches reaching 33 feet long.

'Godseffiana’, a cultivated variety produced in Australia, is bushy, with broad yellow-green variegated leaves displaying scarlet and copper on the upper surface and purplish or rosy-red on the underside. Its white flowers are borne in panicles and its fruits are yellow or reddish when fully ripe.  Drought-tolerant and frequently grown in greenhouses and as a houseplant, it is hardy to zones 9-11.