Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

=== Westwoods Colony (Guilford) ===

Initial attempts at locating this colony of ''Opuntia humifusa'' proved both frustrating and futile, with roughly 3 miles of hiking throughout the terrain revealing no presence of the plant despite plenty of seemingly excellent habitat.  However, armed with the foreknowledge that a colony was found there as late as 2010, I conducted a second exploration of Westwoods nearly two months later and was successful in documenting the largest inland colony of ''O. humifusa'' in the state.

==== Background Information ==== 

In a blog article on [http://hikethegiant.blogspot.com| A Walk Across the Giant], the author related a story of his hike throughout West Woods in Guilford, Connecticut, noting that his hiking party came upon a large colony of ''Opuntia humifusa'' on a ledge beside power lines<ref name="westwoods">Colleran, Jim. "Westwood Trails, Guilford." A Walk Across the Giant: Day Hikes Around Connecticut. N.p., 26 Sep 2010. Web. 19 Apr 2012. <http://hikethegiant.blogspot.com/2010/09/westwood-trails-guilford.html>.</ref>.  This article was published in September 2010 and includes photographic evidence of the find.

==== Preliminary Assessment ====

Initial examination of satellite imagery of Westwoods revealed no shortage of rocky terrain with minimal growth of shade trees.  Many of these rocky balds, however, were clearly within a powerline cut that slices through the northern half of the woodlands.  Because these power lines are most likely relatively recent in origin, it was unlikely that the cactus colony would be found there.

However, the rocky terrain revealed by the powerline cut was also evident in occasional patches of exposed, rocky outcrops that can be seen within the forest using satellite imagery.  These areas offered the ideal habitat for ''O. humifusa''.

==== Exploration ====

On April 28, 2012, I conducted an extensive investigation of a good deal of the potential cactus habitat in the eastern end of Westwoods.  Over the course of a 3.1-mile exploration, I came upon numerous locations which seemed to present very promising habitat.  Surprisingly, however, I was unable to locate any trace of ''O. humifusa''.

On June 27, 2012, I conducted a second exploration of Westwoods, this time focusing only upon those rocky balds that I had not previously explored two months earlier.  This time I was successful in locating a sizable cactus colony, which was to be found upon a long, narrow rocky bald just north of the powerline cut.

==== Status ====

My second field exploration at Westwoods revealed a very large colony of ''O. humifusa'' living upon a long, narrow rocky bald that sits atop an otherwise forested hill.  I have named these cacti the '''Westwoods Colony''' in acknowledgement of fine efforts of preservation and trailblazing that have produced the Westwoods Trails.
[[File:Opuntia-westwoods.jpg|thumb|In late June, Guilford's '''Westwoods Colony''' can be seen in full bloom with large, yellow flowers.]]
The Westwoods Colony habitat is a long, narrow, exposed bald of solid rock, running on a roughly east-west axis, on top of a hill in the northern portion of Westwoods.  The colony itself is rather linear in its distribution, forming a thick, patchy row of plants that spans roughly 320 feet along the outcrop.  Walking the entire area, I was able to count roughly 25 distinct or semi-distinct clonal clusters ranging from small clusters of only a few square feet to larger clusters upwards of 20 square feet.  In addition, countless individual "satellite" plants could found scattered around the clonal clusters, some even growing with little more than 1/4" of dried lichen as substrate.  The bio-mass of cacti in this colony is impressive, to say the least, especially considering that the rocky outcrop is nearly devoid of trees such that one that can fully survey the extent of these plants from a single vantage point at the highest elevation of the ledge.

The exposed ledge was tightly bordered by dense broadleaf forest, but the ledge itself was rather bare.  The only associated tree life living directly upon the cacti habitat consisted of three or four ''Juniperus virginiana'' (Eastern Red Cedar).  The presence of these trees further cements ''J. virginiana'' as the most significant indicator species of inland ''O. humifusa'', being found at every inland colony/complex location thus far documented.

Perhaps the most unique characteristic of the Westwoods Colony is the degree to which it has claimed such a large portion of habitat on the rocky ledge where it is found.  Most inland colonies of ''O. humifusa'' are subject to very restrictive swaths of habitat, such as a tiny forest glade or a small rocky outcrop, where the plant has limited opportunities for expanding its claim.  Westwoods Colony, on the other hand, is situated upon a rather large rocky bald and it is interesting to observe that ''O. humifusa'' has taken advantage of nearly every square foot of suitable terrain available.  This aggressive expansion demonstrates just how effectively an ''O. humifusa'' colony can expand provided that has ample space on conducive habitat.

Also of note is the elevation at which the Westwoods Colony can be found.  The Westwoods Colony is one of the few colonies that can be found at an intermediate elevation, significantly higher than coastal colonies and significantly lower than colonies growing upon ridge tops further inland.  The Ingham Hill Colony in Old Saybrook, the first colony to be discovered at such a mid-level elevation and the only other of this type besides the Westwoods Colony, possesses a similar elevation in the range of ~140 feet AMSL.

The composition of the soil upon which the Westwoods Colony is growing is congruent with most inland colonies, being primarily a rocky outcrop of basalt and other typical associated minerals.  According to the Soil Survey of the Connecticut, the Westwoods Colony is growing upon '''Rock Outcrop-Holyoke Complex''' (Soil Type 79) which is sub-classified as "3 to 45 percent slopes" (Soil Type 79E).  This soil type is listed as primarily consisting of bare, surficial rock outcrops (which is consistent with my observations), with soils derived from Holyoke basalt providing the bulk of the loose substrate.  The colony area is tightly framed by areas designated as Soil Type 78C to the east and Soil Type 78E to the west, both of which are essentially identical to Soil Type 79E with the exception that Holyoke-derived soils dominate over bare rocky outcrops.  Directly to the the southwest of the colony area, within the corridor of the powerline cut, the soil type is designated as '''Wilbraham and Menlo Soils, Extremely Stony''' (Soil Type 6).  This soil type, too, is primarily derived from basalt, but also shale and sandstone.  The exceptionally poor drainage offered by this substrate is probably why the land was chosen for use as a powerline cut, being essentially useless for any other type of development.

==== Colony Location and Statistics ====

The Westwoods Colony is located in the northwestern section of the Westwoods Trails in Guilford, Connecticut.  The long, linear colony begins at 41.286718°, -72.716262° at the eastern end of the ledge and spanning west-northwest for approximately 320 feet to 41.287186°, -72.717182°.

<ul>
<li>To view this location (eastern end as mentioned above) in Google Maps, [http://maps.google.com/?q=41.286718,%20-72.716262 click here].</li>
</li>
</ul>

Pertinent statistics concerning the location include:

<ul>
<li>'''Elevation of Colony:''' Ranges from ~125 to ~145 feet above sea level</li>
<li>'''Soil Type:''' Rock Outcrop-Holyoke Complex, 3 to 45 percent slopes (Soil Type 79E)</li>
</ul>