Pterocactus

{{Short description|Genus of cacti}}

{{automatic taxobox

|image = Pterocactus kuntzei.jpg

|image_caption = Pterocactus tuberosus

|display_parents = 2

|parent_authority =

|taxon = Pterocactus

|authority = K.Schum.

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision =

See text

|type_species =Pterocactus kuntzei 

}}

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. A molecular phylogenetic analysis placed the genus in the tribe Tephrocacteae.{{Cite journal |last1=Köhler |first1=Matias |last2=Reginato |first2=Marcelo |last3=Teixeira Souza-Chies |first3=Tatiana |last4=Majure |first4=Lucas C |date=2020 |title=Insights Into Chloroplast Genome Evolution Across Opuntioideae (Cactaceae) Reveals Robust Yet Sometimes Conflicting Phylogenetic Topologies |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=11 |page=729 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2020.00729 |doi-access=free |pmid=32636853 |pmc=7317007 |name-list-style=amp }}