Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

== Distribution in Connecticut ==

[[File:Opuntia-humifusa-distribution.png|right|thumb|Distribution of ''O. humifusa'' in Connecticut, based upon my field explorations and research.]]''O. humifusa'' is extraordinarily fragmented in its distribution throughout the state, even in coastal regions where the concentration is highest.  This generally characterizes the species throughout all of its range in the Northeast United States.  Even as early as 1900, for example, an issue of Popular Science magazine erroneously speculated that three colonies of ''O. humifusa'' found growing on Hook Mountain in New York might be "either the descendants of a stray from cultivation or, perhaps, purposely planted there by some enthusiast".<ref name="popsci-1900">Wallace, W. Seward. "Prickly Pear on Hook Mountain." ''Popular Science''. Nov 1900: n. page. Print. <http://books.google.com/books?id=BRtbAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover>.</ref>

In most Connecticut towns where I have confirmed the presence of ''O. humifusa'', the colonies are found only in very isolated locations despite the fact that they are in close proximity to similarly suitable habitat.  For this reason, it seems highly probable that ''O. humifusa'' living in Connecticut are not especially adept at long-distance seed dispersal, instead relying largely upon vegetative reproductive techniques which promote colony health in the immediate vicinity but accomplish little in the way of range expansion.