Pterocactus

Taxobox
name = "Pterocactus"

---

image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Pterocactus tuberosus"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Caryophyllales
familia = Cactaceae
subfamilia = Opuntioideae
tribus = Pterocacteae
genus = "Pterocactus"
genus_authority = K.Schum.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"Pterocactus araucanus"
*"Pterocactus australis"
*"Pterocactus fischeri"
*"Pterocactus gonjianii"
*"Pterocactus hickenii"
*"Pterocactus megliolii"
*"Pterocactus reticulatus"
*"Pterocactus tuberosus"
*"Pterocactus valentinii"

"Pterocactus" (from Greek "pteron", "wing", referring to the saucer-shaped seed of these plants) is a genus of the cactus family (Cactaceae), comprising 9 species. All "Pterocactus" have tuberous roots and are endemic to South and Western Argentina. The genus has been given its own tribe, the Pterocacteae.

References

* Edward F. Anderson, "The Cactus Family" (Timber Press, 2001), pp. 593-596