Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Pterocereus | image = Pterocereus_gaumeri.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Echinocereinae | genus = '''Pterocereus''' | authority = (Britton & Rose) MacDougall & Miranda (1954) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Arias et al. (2003), Arias & Terrazas (2009), and Gibson & Horak (1978). }} == Etymology == The name means "winged Cereu..."

2026-04-22T10:45:43Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Pterocereus | image = Pterocereus_gaumeri.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Echinocereinae | genus = '''Pterocereus''' | authority = (Britton & Rose) MacDougall & Miranda (1954) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Arias et al. (2003), Arias & Terrazas (2009), and Gibson & Horak (1978). }} == Etymology == The name means "winged Cereu..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Pterocereus
| image = Pterocereus_gaumeri.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Phyllocacteae]]
| subtribe = [[Echinocereinae]]
| genus = '''Pterocereus'''
| authority = (Britton & Rose) MacDougall & Miranda (1954)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Arias et al. (2003), Arias & Terrazas (2009), and Gibson & Horak (1978).
}}

== Etymology ==
The name means "winged Cereus", referring to the thin, strongly angled ribs.

== Description ==
'''Pterocereus''' is a monotypic genus of slender, columnar cacti with distinctive rib morphology.

* '''Habit''': Erect; usually unbranched or sparsely branched.
* '''Height''': Typically ~1.5 m, up to ~8 m.
* '''Stems''': Bluish-green to greyish-green.
* '''Ribs''': 3–4; very thin, strongly angled.
* '''Areoles''': Few; widely spaced; woolly.
* '''Spines''': ~10–12; short; acicular.
* '''Flowers''': Nocturnal; self-sterile; one per areole.
* '''Flower shape''': Cylindrical to shortly funnel-shaped.
* '''Flower color''': Whitish to pale greenish-yellow.
* '''Floral traits''': Imbricated scales; strongly recurved; unpleasant odour.
* '''Pollination''': By bats.
* '''Fruits''': Globose; scaly and spiny; pale red; with persistent floral remnants.
* '''Seeds''': Large; brown; smooth; glossy.
* '''Seed dispersal''': Likely by birds (ornithochory).

== Habitat ==
Occurs in tropical dry forest ecosystems:

* deciduous dry forests
* lowland environments near sea level
* growing initially under nurse plants (nurse effect / nodricism)
* later emerging above surrounding vegetation

Often associated with genera such as ''Acanthocereus'', ''Hylocereus'', ''Mammillaria'', ''Opuntia'', ''Selenicereus'', and ''Stenocereus''.

Altitude range: near sea level.

== Distribution ==
Mexico:

* Campeche
* Chiapas
* Yucatán

Endemic to southern Mexico.

== Taxonomy ==
A genus separated from ''Pachycereus'' based on morphological and molecular evidence.

Key points:

* Originally described as ''Pachycereus gaumeri'' (Britton & Rose, 1920)
* Later segregated into distinct genera (e.g. ''Backebergia'', ''Lophocereus'', ''Pterocereus'')
* Often retained within ''Pachycereus'' in broader classifications (Anderson, Hunt et al.)
* Molecular studies (Arias et al., 2003) support separation
* Arias & Terrazas (2009): confirmed status and recognized subspecies

The genus is accepted as distinct in Lodé (2015).

== Species ==
According to Joël Lodé (2015):

* [[Pterocereus gaumeri]]
* [[Pterocereus gaumeri subsp. foetidus]]

== Notes ==
* Characterized by very thin, wing-like ribs.
* Emits unpleasant odour to attract bat pollinators.
* Shows clear ecological dependence on nurse plants in early growth stages.
* Represents a lineage formerly embedded within ''Pachycereus''.
* Restricted distribution increases potential conservation concern.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Phyllocacteae]]
[[Category:Echinocereinae]]
[[Category:Pterocereus]]

Pterocereus - Revision history