Opuntia echios Bay on Santa Cruz, "Opuntia echios" var. "inermis" on the Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela and "Opuntia echios" var. "zacana" on North Seymour. Opuntia echios Opuntia echios is a species of plant in the Cactaceae family. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) and is commonly known as the Galápagos prickly pear, but there are five other species of prickly pears that also are endemic to the archipelago ("O. galapageia", "O. helleri", "O. insularis", "O. megasperma" and "O. saxicola"). There are five varieties of "Opuntia echios", each with a different appearance and distribution: "Opuntia echios" var. "echios" on the
Opuntia basilaris These are more or less blue-gray, depending on variety, long and less than wide and thick. They are typically spineless, but have instead many small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. "Opuntia basilaris" blooms from spring to early summer. The species is variable in nature and several names under different ranks have been described. Only four of these are generally accepted. Some experts consider the Trelease's beavertail to be a full species (Bowen 1987, R. van de Hoek). It is unique among the varieties of "Opuntia basilaris" in that the areoles contain spines in addition to the