The wooly devil is Ovicula biradiata, a tiny wildflower in the sunflower family discovered in Big Bend National Park, Texas. It was first noticed in March 2024 and formally described in an announcement on February 18, 2025. The “first time in nearly 50 years” claim refers specifically to the discovery of a new plant genus and species in a U.S. national park—not to the first new plant species found anywhere in the United States in that period.
What is the wooly devil flower?
Ovicula biradiata is a newly identified genus and species in Asteraceae, the daisy and sunflower family. Though related to familiar sunflowers, it does not have the large, sunburst-shaped appearance many people associate with them. It is a small, inconspicuous desert plant that can be easy to miss among rocks.
The National Park Service and California Academy of Sciences announced the scientific description in February 2025. Genetic analysis placed the plant in Asteraceae but showed it was distinct enough to warrant its own genus.
Where and when was it discovered?
A volunteer in Big Bend National Park’s botany program and a supervisory interpretive park ranger noticed unfamiliar tiny plants among rocks in a remote part of northern Big Bend in March 2024. Volunteer Deb Manley then uploaded an observation to iNaturalist, drawing botanists into the identification effort. The team consulted species databases, herbarium records, taxonomic publications, local experts and online observers.
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Researchers from Big Bend National Park, the California Academy of Sciences, Sul Ross State University and Mexico’s Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional collaborated on identifying and describing the plant. Its scientific description was announced on February 18, 2025; the National Park Service published its account on February 24, 2025.
What does “first time in 50 years” mean?
The California Academy of Sciences described the find as the first discovery of both a new plant genus and a new species in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years. Its cited previous example was Dedeckera eurekensis, the July gold shrub, discovered in Death Valley National Park in 1976. The claim is about a new genus and species found in a national park. It does not mean that no new plant species had been discovered elsewhere in the United States for 50 years.
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| Milestone | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| First noticed | March 2024 | Unfamiliar plants were spotted among rocks in northern Big Bend. |
| Scientific description announced | February 18, 2025 | The California Academy of Sciences announced the new genus and species. |
| Previous national-park new-genus example cited by the Academy | 1976 | The July gold shrub was discovered in Death Valley National Park. |
Why is it called a wooly devil?
Thick white hairs cover its leaves, giving them a wool-like look. Its flower head has two conspicuous maroon ray florets, which suggest little horns. “Wooly devil” is a suggested common name based on those features.
The scientific name also reflects the plant’s appearance: Ovicula means “tiny sheep,” referring to the woolly leaves and honoring Big Bend’s bighorn sheep; biradiata refers to the two ray florets.
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What is its habitat and known range?
The California Academy describes the wooly devil as an ephemeral wildflower of rocky Chihuahuan Desert habitat that appears after rain. It grows among drought-tolerant shrubs including ocotillo, hedgehog cactus and creosote. At the time of the 2025 announcement, researchers had observed it at three narrow locations in the northernmost corner of Big Bend National Park. That is a report of known observation locations, not a comprehensive population census; other populations may yet be found.
Big Bend covers 801,165 acres, according to the National Park Service’s 2025 release. That figure describes the park, not the wooly devil’s range.
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Is the wooly devil endangered?
The 2025 releases do not report a formal endangered listing. They do convey researchers’ concern that a plant known from only a few narrow locations could be vulnerable, especially as drought and hotter, drier conditions threaten specialized desert habitats. The comments are concerns made around the announcement, not a current population survey or an official conservation classification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unknown about the plant?
Researchers say they need more information about where else the plant grows, its full life cycle, its pollinators and whether it reappears after drought. The park’s superintendent, Anjna O’Connor, said: “Now that the species has been identified and named, there is a tremendous amount we have yet to learn about it.”
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Researchers also observed glands on the plant. Similar glands in some other sunflower-family plants are known to contain compounds with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, but that does not establish that the wooly devil has those properties. Co-author Keily Peralta said further research is needed to determine whether it does; no medicinal effect or treatment use has been demonstrated in the cited releases.
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