Opuntia echios 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 islands of Santa Cruz, Baltra, Daphne Major and South Plaza, "Opuntia echios" var. "barringtonensis" on Santa Fe, "Opuntia echios" var. "gigantea" near Academy
Opuntia bentonii Opuntia bentonii Opuntia bentonii was proposed by some botanists to be a synonym of "Opuntia stricta". However, "O. bentonii", which grows in Texas, is separate and distinct from "O. stricta." "O. bentonii" was clearly described by Griffiths in 1911. Along with "O. stricta","O. bentonii" was one of the pest pears of Australia in the early Twentieth Century. Like so many "Opuntia" species, "O. bentonii" has been mistaken for a coastal form of "O. lindheimeri" in Texas, but there are sustained differences. For instance, "O. bentonii" plants are often less than 60 cm in height and the fruit is more globular