When I went to the Galapagos Islands back in 2006, I had not become interested in botany yet. Still, when I saw this arborescent Prickly Pear (Opuntia echios subsp. gigantea?) I was impressed enough to take a picture. It seems arborescence in prickly pears evolved because of browsing pressure from herbivorous giant tortoises. They were common in the forests outside of Puerto Ayora. I finally got around to retrieving these photos from my older, dead laptop; more pictures from this great trip shortly…