This Cactus Eats Lava For Breakfast

this magma munching cactus is exclusive to the galapagos islands and gets its nourishment from fresh lava fields growing in shapes that would make your grandmother blush these prickly pioneers turn barren landscapes into lush habitats ready to be populated by other plants and animals this is the lava cactus [Music] hey i'm tasha the amazon and you're watching floralogic today we're talking about a spiky succulent that's a true trailblazer breakaserius nessioticus commonly known as the lava cactus is endemic to the galapagos islands and grows exclusively on fresh lava fields lava cactus is referred to as a pioneering cactus as it's one of the first species to make barren lava fields its home its appearance on these inhospitable areas of hardened lava sets in motion big changes for the environment all the islands of the galapagos began as lava having erupted from several volcanoes to form the archipelago we know today these fresh lava flows are the last place most plants and animals could survive but here the lava cactus not only thrives but makes sure other plants and animals do too as the lava cools and dries it begins to crack this is when the lava cactus gets to work they spread in wide clusters growing their roots in the cracks in the lava then they begin to break down the lava in a process called rock weathering they do this by releasing bacteria that live in the roots that essentially eat the lava for breakfast by breaking down the lava they liberate the lava's minerals providing the cactus with nutrients as the cactus grows it provides a food source for different animals and when the cactus stem dies they begin to create humus a type of nutrient-rich soil eventually creating a soil-rich habitat where trees and bushes can grow little by little a once-bearing ecosystem becomes filled with life without these plants the galapagos islands would be nothing more than bare rock without a giant tortoise in sight despite their shallow roots lava cacti can grow up to 60 centimeters tall and their sharp spines are actually evolved leaves that serve a bunch of handy purposes to keep the lava cactus going the spines curb water loss by preventing evapotranspiration the combination of evaporation from the soil around the plant and the water the plant transpires they also help shade the stem and keep its temperature down and when it does eventually rain they direct rain water down to the cactus's roots as if the spines weren't working hard enough they obviously also keep the lava cactus from being a quick meal no one wants an ouchy snack except for bighorn sheep those guys are crazy [Music] ow [Music] like all succulents the lava cactus stores water in its stem for not so rainy days which it really needs as the average rainfall in the galapagos is only about 55 centimeters a year to further ensure it can survive in these extremely dry conditions the waxy coating of the stem seals in moisture the stems are yellow in color and turn gray or black as they age and look like i can't say it as for their white frilly flowers they appear just before dawn and the blooms shrivel after just a few hours in the zarek or extremely dry zones of the galapagos islands cacti are the most common plants the two other endemic species are the candelabra cactus and the prickly pear only the lava cactus is a pioneering cactus though making it possible for the other two to exist candelabra cactus jasmine ascerius the orcia gets its name from its fancy candle holder-like arms there are three subspecies on the islands each with a slightly different look and range their fruit provide food for all the classic galapagos creatures finches mockingbirds as well as iguanas when the ripe fruit falls to the ground like the lava cactus the flowers which only appear in the morning are also gobbled up by lava lizards as an added bonus when a candelabra cactus dies its skeleton remains standing providing a spooky home for local birds and animals as for a puncha megasperma or prickly pear cactus there are six different species on the islands which are eaten by giant tortoises birds land iguanas and other species of these there are 14 different varieties which makes prickly pear cacti a great example of adaptive radiation now adaptive radiation is what big d charles darwin famously observed in the finches of galapagos islands he noticed that they had quickly evolved into wide varieties to adapt to their specialized ways of life prickly pears have done the same varieties that are found on islands with giant tortoises for example grow taller to keep their fruits out of reach while other varieties on tortoiseless islands grow low to the ground but we wouldn't even be talking about candelabra or prickly pear cacti without the star of our episode thanks single-handedly to the lava cactus the galapagos islands are brimming with utterly unique flora and fauna despite having first been described by darwin back in 1835 not much research has been done on the lava cactus since which means any of you aspiring botanists could be the next authority on lava cactus so what should we talk about next let me know in the comments and don't forget to subscribe for new episodes every week see you later [Music] they do this by releasing bacteria that live in their roots that essentially eat the lava for dinner breakfast or whatever breakfast i think specifically they only eat it in the morning

Channel: Animalogic

Views: 919,498

Keywords: animals, animal, logic, education, animalogic, crazy, ugly, weird, gross, beautiful, interesting, facts, about, information, info, school, research, learn, learning, smart, 4k, nature documentary, nature doc, floralogic, second nature, lava, cactus, galapagos, pioneering cactus, prickly pear, candelabra, marine iguana, iguana, land iguana, finch, darwin, islands, lava field, volcano, erupt, magma, flowing lava, erupting volcano, spines, big horn sheep

Id: 0OcqXCZzlUk

Length: 5min 35sec (335 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 18 2022