Galapagos Lava Cactus
by Catherine Sherman
Title
Galapagos Lava Cactus
Artist
Catherine Sherman
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Galapagos Lava Cactus" by Catherine Sherman.
A Lava Cactus grows among the hardened whorls of lava from a volcanic eruption a century earlier on the island of Santiago in the Galapagos Islands.
The lava cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus) is unique to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. This cactus is a pioneer in lava fields, where it has developed special adaptations that allow it to survive in some of the most inhospitable volcanic places in the archipelago, subsisting in arid ground with long periods of drought, surviving on the water that it collects, which is a skill that it has acquired from an evolutionary process over hundreds of thousands of years.
It is short, unlike the tall Opuntia (prickly pear) found elsewhere in the Galapagos, which are some of the tallest cactus in the world. The unique characteristics of this cactus allow many animals to survive in extreme conditions, providing a permanent source of water in the dry season, as well as fruit. Animals such as iguanas, birds and land tortoises drink water from its base and globular stalks.
Featured in "The World We See" group (04/26/2015); "Premium FAA Artists" group (04/28/2015); "Beauty" group (04/29/2015); "Images That Excite You" group (04/29/2015)
Uploaded
April 26th, 2015
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Viewed 488 Times - Last Visitor from Sunnyvale, CA on 04/16/2024 at 4:49 PM
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