 Local tortoises using the same pallet sites, such as on Volcán Alcedo, results in the formation of small, sandy pits.The tortoises are herbivores that consume a diet of cacti, grasses, leaves, lichens, berries, melons, oranges, and milkweed.They have been documented feeding on "Hippomane mancinella" ('poison apple'), the endemic guava "Psidium galapageium", the water fern "Azolla microphylla", bromeliad "Tillandsia insularis and the Galápagos Tomato Solanum cheesmaniae".