Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Opuntia echios var. inermis E.Y. Dawson

tuna gigante, tuna, cactus

Pollen grain of Opuntia echios var. inermis E.Y. Dawson (scanning electron micrograph). Photo: Patricia Jaramillo Díaz & M. Mar Trigo, CDF, 2011.
Pollen grain of Opuntia echios var. inermis E.Y. Dawson (scanning electron micrograph). Photo: Patricia Jaramillo Díaz & M. Mar Trigo, CDF, 2011.

An impressive tree cactus with flat, spiny pads. The flowers are bright yellow. Adult cacti have orange-brown trunks with flaking bark. Popular in gardens for the sculpture-like quality.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Caryophyllales

Family
Cactaceae

Genus
Opuntia

Species
echios

Subspecies
var. inermis

Taxon category: Species with Infraspecific Taxa

Syn.: Opuntia zacana Howell.

Origin: Endemic

Status

Endangered

References

  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
  • Lundh, J.P. (1995) Some additional information and comments on the Annotated Check list of Vascular Plants of the Galapagos Islands by Lawesson, Adsersen and Bentley. Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished.
  • Lawesson, J.E. Adsersen, H. & Bentley, P. (1987) An updated and annotated check list of the vascular plants of the Galapagos islands. Rept. Bot. Inst., Univ. Aarhus 16: 1-74.
  • Hicks, D.J. Mauchamp, A. (1996) Evolution and conservation biology of the Galapagos Opuntias (Cactaceae). Yearbook Cactus Succulent Soc. Am. 4:
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Anderson, E.F. (1967.) An Account of My Cactus Collecting Trip to the Galapagos Islands. Cactus and Succulent J. Amer. 39:186-199.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Opuntia echios var. inermis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=242. Accessed 15 May 2025.