"Palo Santo & Prickly Pear Cactus" Galápagos Islands Favorite Tip by elsadran

Favorite thing: Two of the most common plants on the islands are Palo Santo and Prickley Pear Cactus.
Palo Santo is a green deciduous tree that sheds its leaves during dry season exposing a white bark. Its sap contains an aromatic resin so they are cut and burnt as incense in churches.
Prickly Pear Cactus ( Opuntia) is the most common cactus. It usually grows like a shrub except when there are a lot of the animals that eat its flowers. Then it grows much taller, sometimes going up to 5 meters. The flower is beautiful, large and yellow and develop into an orange thorn covered fruit. Tortoises and iguanas have it as the major source of food and water. They roll it to the ground until the thorns are gone and then ...gulp it.

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