BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas – A new plant species has been discovered at Big Bend National Park, the park announced in a news release Monday.
In March 2024, two staff members found tiny plants inside the park that they did not recognize among desert rocks in a remote area on the northern part of the park.
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The staff members posted photos of the plants online and began an investigation, consulting species databases, herbarium records, plant taxonomy publications and area experts, according to the release.
“Excitement began to grow as it soon became apparent that these tiny plants were not previously known,” the release said.
A genetic analysis determined the plant was so distinctive that it was classified as an entirely new genus within the Asteraceae (Daisy) family, the release said.
The discovery marks the first time a new plant genus has been found in a national park since 1976, according to the California Academy of Sciences, who partnered with researchers at Big Bend National Park.
Sul Ross University and Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional also joined park staff in the study of the new plant.
Inspiration for the plant name — Ovicula biradiata —was found in its appearance.
The park said Ovicula means “tiny sheep,” a reference to the thick white “wool” that covers the leaves. Biradiata references the two conspicuous ray petals on its flower.
Researchers working on the new species have also affectionately named the plant “wooly” or “wooly devil,” the park said.
A scientific description of the species, along with the results of a genetic analysis of the plant, was published in PhytoKeys, a peer-reviewed botanical journal.
“Now that the species has been identified and named, there is a tremendous amount we have yet to learn about it,” said Big Bend National Park Superintendent Anjna O’Connor. “I’m excited to discover whether there are other populations in the park, details of its life cycle, what are the pollinators, and due to the current drought, if it will be observed at all this spring.”
Big Bend National Park spans 801,165 acres and is known for its biodiversity due to its size and wide range of habitat types.
The release noted recent scientific discoveries at the park include a fossil record of a new species of duck-billed dinosaur (Malefica deckerti) and detection of a species of oak (Quercus tardifolia) once considered extinct.
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