Opuntia echios
Opuntia echios on Santa Cruz
Opuntia echios is a flowering plant in the genus Opuntia ( Opuntia ) from the cactus family ( Cactaceae ). The specific epithet echios comes from the Greek and means, hairy snake head '. Presumably, the similarity is meant by the dense, fine spines on the rough bristly hair of a snake head.
Description
The most tree-like, growing with drooping branches Opuntia echios reaches stature heights of 1 and 10 meters. The first thorny, later covered with reddish tiles trunk is usually pronounced and reached a diameter of up to one meter. The yellow-green to blue- green stem segments are round, obovate or oblong. They are 25 to 45 inches long, 17 to 32 inches wide and 1 to 2.4 inches thick. The round areolae with a diameter of 2 to 6 mm 13 to 30 centimeters away from each other. Glochids missing or there are only few available. The 2 to 20 (or more) upright, stiff, strongly dimorphic (two polymorphic ) spines are initially yellow and brown later. They are 1.2 to 12 inches long.
The yellow flowers are 8 to 12 inches long and can reach diameter 5-7 cm. The fruits are green to brown, top-shaped. They are busy glochids and thorns and have a diameter of 3 to 3.5 inches and a length of 4 to 6 centimeters.
Systematics and distribution
There are five varieties that occur on each of the Galápagos Islands ( Archipelago Columbus ). Opuntia echios var echios is widespread on the islands Isla Baltra, Daphne Isla, Isla Plaza Sur, Isla Santa Cruz. Opuntia echios var barringtonensis EYDawson is only on Isla Santa Fé, Opuntia inermis var echios EYDawson is only on Isla Isabela, Opuntia var echios gigantea ( JTHowell ) DMPorter is echios only on Isla Santa Cruz and Opuntia var zacana ( Howell ) EFAnderson & Walk. found only on Isla Seymour Norte.
The first description was in 1933 by John Thomas Howell.
Opuntia echios var echios on Plaza Sur
Opuntia echios var zacana on Seymour Norte
Bark