Editing Eastern Prickly Pear (section)

===== West Rock South Colony =====

[[File:West-rock-south-colony-opuntia.jpg|thumb|'''West Rock South Colony''', found on the southern half of West Rock Ridge in New Haven, CT]]My first field exploration identified a small, isolated, exposed patch of bedrock within the forest on the southern half of West Rock Ridge in New Haven, Connecticut upon which a colony of ''Opuntia humifusa'' currently lives.  I have not found any explicit evidence that the location of this colony has been previously documented.

The colony, which I have named '''West Rock South Colony''', consists of a large, clonal patch covering approximately 25 to 35 square feet.  Within 5 to 10 feet of this clonal center were approximately 6 or 7 individual outlying "satellite" cacti.

There is a bare minimum of herbaceous plants on the cacti habitat, as would be expected.  The most prominent additive feature of this colony is a large, gnarled, many-trunked juniper, specifically an Eastern Red Cedar (''Juniperus virginiana'' var. ''virginiana'').  The large clonal mass of cacti can be found tightly skirting the base of this tree.