California Academy of Sciences and Partners Uncover New Sunflower Species in Big Bend National Park, Texas

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 18, 2025) — Academy researchers and partners made the first discovery of both a new genus and species of plant in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years. The new-to-science wooly devil (Ovicula biradiata), described today in the journal PhytoKeys, is a member of the sunflower family and was found in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences, Big Bend National Park, Sul Ross State University, and Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIDIIR) in Durango, Mexico collaborated on the study.

Big Bend National Park, located within the Chihuahuan Desert—the largest and most biologically diverse warm desert in North America—is a well-studied floristic region that has been the subject of countless botanical surveys over the last century. This discovery is particularly rare, as it marks the first time a new plant genus was described in a national park since the mountain-dwelling shrub July gold (Dedeckera eurekensis) was found in Death Valley National Park in 1976.

“While many assume that the plants and animals within our country’s national parks have probably been documented by now, scientists still make surprising new discoveries in these iconic protected landscapes,” says corresponding author and Academy researcher Isaac Lichter Marck, PhD. “O. biradiata is a member of the sunflower family, although it does not resemble its sunburst-shaped relatives at first glance. After sequencing its DNA and comparing it with other specimens in the Academy’s herbarium, we discovered that this small, fuzzy plant is not only a new species within the sunflower group, but it is also distinct enough from its closest relatives to warrant an entirely new genus.”

The plant was first observed in March of 2024 by park volunteer Deb Manley, who promptly uploaded the unknown species to the community science app iNaturalist, where an international community of botanists assembled to identify the mysterious flower. Known colloquially to botanists as a “belly plant,” or a small, discreet plant that can only be properly observed by lying on the ground, this distinctive wild flower with furry white foliage and maroon ray florets is an ephemeral species that only blooms after rain. It is found in harsh rocky habitats with scant rainfall and grows alongside a variety of drought-tolerant shrubs, such as ocotillo, hedgehog cactus, and creosote.

“Plants that thrive in deserts are often quite unique, having evolved specific mechanisms to withstand the extreme drought-and-deluge conditions of these arid landscapes—from water-storing structures to rapid life cycles triggered by rain,” says Lichter Marck. “But as climate change pushes deserts to become hotter and drier, highly specialized plants like the wooly devil face extinction. We have only observed this plant in three narrow locations across the northernmost corner of the park, and it’s possible that we’ve documented a species that is already on its way out.”

The name Ovicula biradiata was inspired by the plant's wooly appearance and striking red petals. Ovicula, meaning “tiny sheep,” refers to the thick, white hairs that cover the plant’s leaves and honors a more iconic endangered species in Big Bend: the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). Biradiata, or “bi-radial,” refers to the two ray florets in each of the plant’s flowers. Researchers working with the plant affectionately dubbed the fuzzy flower the “wooly devil,” which has become its suggested common name.

“Now that the species has been identified and named, there is a tremendous amount we have yet to learn about it,” says Big Bend National Park botanist Carolyn Whiting. “I’m excited to discover whether there are other populations in the park, the details of its life cycle, what pollinates it, and whether we’ll observe it this spring, given the current drought.”

Visitors to the park can contribute to this effort by documenting wildflowers they encounter following spring rains and uploading their observations to iNaturalist.

Back in the Academy’s herbarium in San Francisco, which recently received a grant to digitize its entire botany collection, researchers ponder the wooly devil’s potential medicinal properties.

“Under the microscope, we noticed specific glands that are known to possess compounds with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties in other plants within the sunflower family,” says Academy co-author Keily Peralta. “While further research is needed to determine these properties, this discovery underscores the potential knowledge we stand to gain from preserving plant diversity in fragile desert ecosystems.”