Plant

Tall Galápagos prickly pear cactus with a thick woody trunk rising from black lava rock beside a tidal lagoon, more cacti dotting the volcanic landscape under overcast skies

Galápagos prickly pear

📍 Galápagos Islands Galápagos Prickly Pear (Opuntia echios) The largest prickly pear in the world, growing tree-sized trunks up to 12 meters tall — an evolutionary arms race with giant tortoises and land iguanas that graze on the lower pads. Endemic to the Galápagos and found across most of the archipelago; its fruit and pads are a critical food source for tortoises, iguanas, finches, and mockingbirds alike. Wikipedia | iNaturalist