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 ficus-indica the plants are used as fodder. In these cases, the spines need to be removed from the pads to avoid damage to the animals. Mostly, this is achieved by burning the spines off the pads. "Opuntia ficus-indica" for human and animal consumption is its water content in an arid environment, containing about 85% water as a water source for wildlife. The seeds contain 3-10% of protein and 6-13% of fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid. As the fruit contains vitamin C (containing 25–30 mg per 100g), it was once used to mitigate scurvy. "Opuntia" contains selenium. The red color of the