Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

=== High Rock Mountain (Bethany & Hamden) ===

On May 19, 2012, I conducted an exploration of rocky outcrops on High Rock Mountain, accessible along the blue-blazed Quinnipiac Trail.  I accessed the trail from Brooks Road in Bethany and hiked the Quinnipiac Trail to the bald ridges on High Rock Mountain in Hamden (~2.75 mile loop hike).

My prior research suggested that High Rock Mountain offered excellent habitat for ''O. humifusa''.  The rocky outcrops consist entirely of Holyoke-Rocky Outcrop Complex (Soil Types 78C and 78E), a soil type known to be associated with all confirmed ''O. humifusa'' sites in New Haven, Hamden and Plainville.  The rocky outcrops that I investigated are also designated by CTECO GIS maps as Subacidic Rocky Outcrops (SubRSO), a critical habitat type with which ''O. humifusa'' is closely associated in both New Haven and Hamden on West Rock Ridge.  In addition, these rocky outcrops on High Rock Mountain are less than one mile from large colonies of ''O. humifusa'' that I've observed in Hamden at the northern extent of West Rock Ridge State Park.  When factored together, all of these characteristics seemed to indicate a very high probability of ''O. humifusa'' colonization on High Rock Mountain.

The entire exploration, however, revealed no evidence of ''O. humifusa'' on High Rock Mountain.

The rocky outcrops that were targeted during my exploration exhibited the presence of ''Juniperus virginiana'' (Eastern Red Cedar), a known indicator species of ''O. humifusa'' on this type of terrain.  This raised the probability of finding ''O. humifusa'' even higher.

However, if any feature of this terrain was inconducive to ''O. humifusa'', it was a lack of full exposure to sunlight.  The rocky outcrops on High Rock Mountain were too tightly crowded by forest, leaving little room for the shade-intolerant ''O. humifusa'' to take hold.  There were a few areas which offered sufficient sunlight exposure, but they were few and far between.  In addition, it seemed that many of the larger, exposed areas were home to an unusually high diversity of herbaceous plants which would probably out-compete ''O. humifusa''.