Opuntia echios is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. 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).
Opuntia echios var. zacana is a small variety
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 Bay on Santa Cruz, Opuntia echios var. inermis on the Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela and Opuntia echios var. zacana on North Seymour.
It is a cactus that grows with arched branches that reaches a size of 1 and 10 meters high. It is initially prickly, then covered with reddish sheets it is usually pronounced and reaches a diameter of up to one meter. The yellow-green stem with blue-green segments that are round, obovate or oblong and measure 25 to 45 centimeters long, 17 to 32 cm wide and 1 to 2.4 centimeters thick. The areolas with a diameter of 2 to 6 mm, 13 to 30 cm away, gloquidia absent or there are only a few available. With 2 to 20 (or more) spines in a vertical position, rigid, which are initially yellow and then brown, 1.2 to 12 cm long. The flowers are yellow are 8 to 12 cm long and can reach diameters between 5 and 7 centimeters. The fruits are green to brown, shaped like a lid.
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