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Pterocactus

Pterocactus
Photo: Michael Wolf, CC BY 2.5

Pterocactus is a genus of small, tuberous-rooted cacti from southern and western Argentina, with 9 species. Most grow in dry, open desert ground and need full sun, very little water, and fast-draining soil.

Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent, Bulb
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly during the growing season and keep almost dry in winter.
Soil
Very fast-draining sandy or gritty mineral mix.
Temperature
Tolerates cold winters well; keep warm and dry in summer. Protect from prolonged wet cold.
How easy
Moderate

About

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.

Other Pterocactus plants

Pterocactus tuberosus · Pterocactus valentini

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pterocactus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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