89R17840 BK-D
By: Gutierrez, et al. S.R. No. 402
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Two staff members at Big Bend National Park, Deb
Manley and Cathy Hoyt, have captivated the botanical world with
their discovery of a new plant species, the "wooly devil"; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Manley, a volunteer in the park's botany
program, and Ms. Hoyt, a supervisory interpretive park ranger,
first encountered the plant while on a hike in the park's
backcountry in March 2024; nestled among the desert rocks, the
plant featured fuzzy foliage and narrow, maroon-colored petals that
were unlike any species they had seen before; the discovery
elicited tremendous interest among botanists, and park staff were
eventually joined by representatives from California Academy of
Sciences, Sul Ross State University, and Centro Interdisciplinario
de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional in studying
and classifying the species; and
WHEREAS, Researchers dubbed the plant the "wooly devil" in
reference to its hairy leaves and hornlike florets, and it was
designated with the official name Ovicula biradiata in a new genus
within the daisy family; diminutive in size, the wooly devil ranges
from half an inch to three inches across, and it has been identified
in just three small sections in Big Bend's portion of the Chihuahuan
Desert; as an annual plant that blooms after desert rains, it has
likely struggled to survive in the midst of prolonged droughts in
its habitat, making its discovery all the more remarkable to the
scientific community; and
WHEREAS, Uncovering not only a new species but an entirely
new plant genus is a rare and exciting scientific breakthrough, and
Deb Manley and Cathy Hoyt may indeed take pride in the role they
played in bringing this tiny marvel to light and furthering the
study of the fascinating biodiversity found within Big Bend
National Park; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature
hereby commemorate the discovery of a new plant species at Big Bend
National Park and commend Deb Manley and Cathy Hoyt for their vital
contribution to this undertaking.