Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

==== Background Information ====

Although plenty of records exist which suggest the presence of ''Opuntia humifusa'' on West Rock Ridge, very few of these records offer any specific information as to where the cactus can actually be discovered.  This was of particular concern because West Rock Ridge State Park is over 5 miles long, extending from New Haven in the south to Hamden in the north (and even straddling the borders of Woodbridge and Bethany on its western edges).  Launching precisely targeted explorations of West Rock Ridge required the extensive study of satellite imagery, which permitted me to focus upon those areas which are not heavily forested and, thus, have at least some measure of potential to be ''O. humifusa'' habitat.

The oldest evidence that I've thus far discovered which attests to the existence of ''Opuntia humifusa'' in New Haven, Connecticut dates to the mid-1800s.  [[A Report on the Trees and Shrubs Growing Naturally in the Forests of Massachusetts, Volume 2]], published in 1846, very briefly mentions that the ''O. humifusa'' "is said to be found at New Haven, in Connecticut."<ref name="forestsmass">Emerson, George Barrell. ''A Report on the Trees and Shrubs Growing Naturally in the Forests of Massachusetts''. 2. Boston: Dutton and Wenworth, State Printers, 1846. 424. Print. <http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=7c4VAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader>.</ref>  No specific information is provided concerning the whereabouts of a colony.

In a modern written overview of West Rock Ridge in New Haven, Connecticut, the ''West Rock Ridge Park Association'' notes that the ridge offers an "extraordinary biodiversity of plants and animals from prickly pear cactuses to 230 species of birds".<ref name="aboutwestrock">"About West Rock." ''West Rock Ridge Park Association''. West Rock Ridge Park Association, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2012. <http://westrockpark.wordpress.com/about/>.</ref>  The text does not offer any further mention of ''O. humifusa'', nor does it offer photographic evidence.

Further supporting this claim, an article was published on the website of the [http://msa2012.net Mycological Society of America] which details a group hike throughout West Rock Ridge scheduled to take place in 2012 during the organization's annual meeting.  Although the organisms of interest to mycologists are primarily mushrooms and other fungi, the article nonetheless states that hikers in the West Rock Ridge area "occasionally [find] prickly pear cactus".<ref name="myco2012">"Foray." ''Mycological Society of America 2012 Meeting''. Mycological Society of America, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2012. <http://msa2012.net/schedule/fieldtrips.php>.</ref>  No further mention of cacti is made in this article.

The compelling evidence of the presence of ''O. humifusa'' on West Rock Ridge comes in the form of a photograph taken by Michael Hornak in 2011.  The image portrays ''O. humifusa'' in bloom and the geo-tag data pinpoints the location of the plant to be at the far northern end of West Rock Ridge State Park in Hamden, Connecticut.<ref name="hornak-photo">Hornak, Michael. ''Blooming on the Fourth''. 2011. Photograph. Flickr. Web. 1 May 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/31522928@N08/5902419015/>.</ref>