Picture the Galápagos Islands and their charismatic wildlife bursts to mind: giant tortoises, sea lions, sharks and ‘Darwin’s finches’ – which first sparked the naturalist’s work on natural selection. But these animals aren’t just roaming around a barren outcrop of volcanic rocks. The Galápagos are home to an astonishing diversity of plants which underpin the wider ecosystem and are fascinating species in their own right. Like the finches, plants have adapted to different niches in the archipelago. Cacti, for example, have various spiky defences depending on their local predators. The islands …
