Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Opuntia megasperma var. orientalis
tuna, cactus, Prickly pear cactus
An impressive tree cactus with flat, spiny pads. The flowers are bright yellow. Adult cacti have orange-brown trunks with flaking bark and upper branches forming a crown. Popular in gardens for its sculpture-like quality.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Cactaceae
Genus
Opuntia
Species
megasperma
Subspecies
var. orientalis
Taxon category: Species with Infraspecific Taxa
Origin: Endemic
- Anderson, E.F. (1967.) An Account of My Cactus Collecting Trip to the Galapagos Islands. Cactus and Succulent J. Amer. 39:186-199.
- Atkinson, R. Jaramillo, P., Simbaña, W., Guézou, A. & Coronel, V. (2008) Advances in the conservation of threatened plant species of Galápagos. Galápagos Report, 97-102 (Eds L. Cayot and V. Toral). Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador.
- Davis, S. (1987) El centro mundial para el monitoreo de la conservación y las floras insulares amenazadas. Memorias. Taller sobre investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 304-314
- Hicks, D.J. Mauchamp, A. (1996) Evolution and conservation biology of the Galapagos Opuntias (Cactaceae). Yearbook Cactus Succulent Soc. Am. 4:
- Howell, J.T. (1933) The Cactaceae of the Galapagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 21(5): 41-54.
- Jaramillo, P. (2000) Plantas amenazadas y medidas de conservación en varias islas del archipiélago. Informe Galápagos, 70-76 (Eds P. Ospina and E. Muñoz.). Quito-Ecuador: Fundación Natura y el Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza (WWF).
- Jaramillo, P. (1998) Distribución Espacial de la Vegetación Vascular y Dispersión de Especies Introducidas dentro del Parque Nacional Galápagos. Tesis de Doctorado en Biología, Universidad Central del Ecuador. Especialización ECOLOGIA DE POBLACIONES.
- 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.
- 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.
- Lundh, J.P. (1970) A New Variety Opuntia megasperma from the Galápagos Islands. Madroño 20(5): 254.
- 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.
- Porter, D.M. (1978) Nomenclatural Changes in Spilanthes, Lycopersicum and Opuntia for the Galápagos Islands. Madroño 25(1): 58-59.
- Porter, D.M. (1983) Vascular Plants of the Galapagos: Origins and Dispersal. In: Bowman, R.I., Berson, M. & Leviton, A.E. (eds.): Patterns of evolution in Galápagos organisms. Pacific Division, AAAS, San Francisco, California, p. 33-96.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
- Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Opuntia megasperma var. orientalis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=250. Accessed 19 December 2025.