| |
|
|
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 402
|
|
|
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 State of Texas, 89th |
|
|
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. |
| |
|
|
Gutierrez |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Cook |
Hinojosa of Hidalgo |
Menéndez |
|
|
|
| Eckhardt |
Johnson |
Zaffirini |
|
| |
|
|
Patrick, President of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
President of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I hereby certify that the |
|
|
|
above Resolution was adopted by |
|
|
|
the Senate on April 15, 2025. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
Member, Texas Senate |