Galapagos opuntias

[Lucy_V]

Visited Galapagos islands last year and fell in love with the land and it's unique flora and fauna. Definitely planning to return there again. Endemic opuntia species are fascinating, some stand as a giant trees (Opuntia echios), others have flowers on the side of the "leaf",which was quite unusual to me (O.galapageia). Among columnar cacti prevails Jasminocereus thouarsii. Unfortunately I didn't make a decent picture of the lava cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus). Would like to share some pictures with the forum

[ElieEstephane]

Very beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing! I was not aware Jasminocereus thouarsii existed. It's an attractive cactus

[DaveW]

Whatever you do don't try and pick up any plant material Lucy or try and bring it back since the Ecuadorian authorities ban anything coming out of the Galapagos, rather as Mexico does with it's cacti. They are also very keen to prevent tourists carrying material from one island to another, since each has it's own distinct flora and fauna as Darwin described. I even once wrote to the Darwin Institute on the Galapagos to see if they produced a seed list and they said even they are not even allowed to send plant material or seed abroad. Possibly some scientific institutes may be able to get limited permits from Ecuador for material for research, but certainly not amateurs.

https://www.galapagosislands.com/santa- ... ation.html

Ecuador even considered banning tourism to the islands in 2007 in order to preserve their natural history, but luckily thought better of it.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/ ... emise.html

[Lucy_V]

Dave, I would NEVER do such thing, like sneaking some plant or animal material from Galapagos, no matter how strong was my temptation to bring home a couple of marine iguanas . My deepest respect for the islands' unique nature, which must not be tampered with, to the native people protecting their treasures by laws and by heart as well. Love to see this land again, protected, studied and unchanged by humans. I was glad to see that that the majority of the tourists there are of a special kind, undemanding to luxuries, true nature lovers, observing and respectful. Although according to the policies of the new president, Ecuador is planning to expand tourism to the Galapagos islands, bringing more crowds (and money) to the country. Just hope our future generations can still enjoy their untouched beauty and exceptional variety of species, which were inspiration for the Charles Darwin's greatest work.

[DesertSun]

You are so lucky! Amazing place to visit and all the huge old cacti, stunning! And the photos you took are wonderful!

[Lucy_V]

Thank you Marina!

[RayC]

Very nice