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Scientists Hope a Newly Discovered Flower Will Return After Rain in West Texas

News Feed
Monday, March 31, 2025

DALLAS (AP) — Scientists who want to learn more about a tiny flower recently discovered in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area.Dubbed the wooly devil, the flower with furry leaves, purplish-striped petals and pops of yellow is a new genus and species in the same family as sunflowers and daisies: Asteraceae. It was discovered last year in Big Bend National Park, known for its rugged terrain of desert, canyons and mountains, on the border with Mexico.“There’s a lot to learn with this species so they’re really just getting started,” said Carolyn Whiting, a Big Bend botanist.Scientists are hopeful the flowers will bloom again after rain fell on the drought-stricken park last week, giving them the opportunity to learn more including when the plants germinate, Whiting said. The flower was discovered in March 2024. Park volunteer Deb Manley and a park ranger were hiking in a remote area when they saw a patch of flowers that were smaller than a quarter and close to the ground.“We stopped and took some photos and neither one of us had any idea,” Manley said. “I could get it to family but I couldn’t figure out any more than that. So we took photos and moved on, not realizing we had found a new genus.”When Manley got back from the hike, she started researching what the flower could be. She soon found that not only was she stumped, but others were too. Her post about the flower on iNaturalist, an online platform for nature enthusiasts “caused a stir,” said Isaac Lichter Marck, a researcher at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.A. Michael Powell, curator and director of the herbarium at Sul Russ State University in Alpine, said when Manley contacted him about the flower, he immediately thought it was something new. “It wasn’t anything I’d seen before,” said Powell, who has extensively studied the region.By the time a team went to collect samples of the flower a few weeks after the discovery, they had already begun to wither away.“We really got out there just in the nick of time before the specimens would have been completely dried up,” Whiting said.The discovery of the flower was announced last month.Lichter Marck said they were able to extract DNA from the flower but that there's still a lot to learn. He said they don’t know yet how it reproduces, or what potential uses it might have. They also need to determine if it’s endangered.The wooly devil's official name — Ovicula biradiata — takes inspiration from its appearance: Ovicula, which means tiny sheep, is a nod to the hairs that cover its leaves; while biradiata, or bi-radial, refers to its two striped petals. Kelsey Wogan, environmental lab manager at Sul Ross State University, said she’s excited to see if the wooly devil can be found in other places as well and what its range is.Whiting said the park is so well-studied that finding a new species was a surprise. “The fact that there’s still species out there that had slipped under the radar is pretty remarkable,” she said.Wogan said part of the excitement about the flower's discovery is that it shows “there’s still new and undescribed things out there.”“It’s the great reminder to keep your eyes open," she said, "and if you don’t know what something is, it might be completely new.”Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Scientists who want to learn more about a tiny, newly discovered flower in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area

DALLAS (AP) — Scientists who want to learn more about a tiny flower recently discovered in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area.

Dubbed the wooly devil, the flower with furry leaves, purplish-striped petals and pops of yellow is a new genus and species in the same family as sunflowers and daisies: Asteraceae. It was discovered last year in Big Bend National Park, known for its rugged terrain of desert, canyons and mountains, on the border with Mexico.

“There’s a lot to learn with this species so they’re really just getting started,” said Carolyn Whiting, a Big Bend botanist.

Scientists are hopeful the flowers will bloom again after rain fell on the drought-stricken park last week, giving them the opportunity to learn more including when the plants germinate, Whiting said.

The flower was discovered in March 2024. Park volunteer Deb Manley and a park ranger were hiking in a remote area when they saw a patch of flowers that were smaller than a quarter and close to the ground.

“We stopped and took some photos and neither one of us had any idea,” Manley said. “I could get it to family but I couldn’t figure out any more than that. So we took photos and moved on, not realizing we had found a new genus.”

When Manley got back from the hike, she started researching what the flower could be. She soon found that not only was she stumped, but others were too. Her post about the flower on iNaturalist, an online platform for nature enthusiasts “caused a stir,” said Isaac Lichter Marck, a researcher at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

A. Michael Powell, curator and director of the herbarium at Sul Russ State University in Alpine, said when Manley contacted him about the flower, he immediately thought it was something new.

“It wasn’t anything I’d seen before,” said Powell, who has extensively studied the region.

By the time a team went to collect samples of the flower a few weeks after the discovery, they had already begun to wither away.

“We really got out there just in the nick of time before the specimens would have been completely dried up,” Whiting said.

The discovery of the flower was announced last month.

Lichter Marck said they were able to extract DNA from the flower but that there's still a lot to learn. He said they don’t know yet how it reproduces, or what potential uses it might have. They also need to determine if it’s endangered.

The wooly devil's official name — Ovicula biradiata — takes inspiration from its appearance: Ovicula, which means tiny sheep, is a nod to the hairs that cover its leaves; while biradiata, or bi-radial, refers to its two striped petals.

Kelsey Wogan, environmental lab manager at Sul Ross State University, said she’s excited to see if the wooly devil can be found in other places as well and what its range is.

Whiting said the park is so well-studied that finding a new species was a surprise.

“The fact that there’s still species out there that had slipped under the radar is pretty remarkable,” she said.

Wogan said part of the excitement about the flower's discovery is that it shows “there’s still new and undescribed things out there.”

“It’s the great reminder to keep your eyes open," she said, "and if you don’t know what something is, it might be completely new.”

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

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‘We made everything bear-proof’: the Italian village that learned to love its bears

By learning to live with its ursine neighbours, mountainous Pettorano sul Gizio has drawn tourists and new residents, bucking a trend of rural declinePettorano sul Gizio is a medieval mountain town full of alleys, watchful cats and wooden doors locked sometime in the last century. In the lower parts of town, rustic charm turns into abandonment – branches grow out of walls and roofs have fallen in. The only bar closed at Christmas, after the owner died. Some “For Sale” signs have been up so long the phone number is illegible.The town, with its faded ochre and orange hues, is listed as one of Italy’s I Borghi più belli (an association of historic towns). In 1920, about 5,000 people lived here, now the population is 390. It resembles many others in Italy’s south-central Abruzzo region, home to a shrinking, ageing population. One nearby town has been almost completely abandoned, and is home to just 12 people. Continue reading...

Pettorano sul Gizio is a medieval mountain town full of alleys, watchful cats and wooden doors locked sometime in the last century. In the lower parts of town, rustic charm turns into abandonment – branches grow out of walls and roofs have fallen in. The only bar closed at Christmas, after the owner died. Some “For Sale” signs have been up so long the phone number is illegible.The town, with its faded ochre and orange hues, is listed as one of Italy’s I Borghi più belli (an association of historic towns). In 1920, about 5,000 people lived here, now the population is 390. It resembles many others in Italy’s south-central Abruzzo region, home to a shrinking, ageing population. One nearby town has been almost completely abandoned, and is home to just 12 people.A postcard of Pettorano sul Gizio from about 1920, when the town’s population was 5,000. Photograph: Angela Tavone/Rewilding ApenninesBut Pettorano sul Gizio is different – set apart by its passion for bears. A lifesize model of a brown bear and cub stands in the town square, and paintings of bears look down from the walls.At dawn and dusk, a bear known as Barbara is known to wander the narrow streets – sometimes trailed by cubs – to see if she can pilfer any food.Now known as “the town that went wild”, it has attracted a new crowd of younger people working in nature restoration. Yet, making peace with the town’s critically endangered Marsican, or Apennine, bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus), which are endemic to the Abruzzo region, was not easy.An adult Marsican, or Apennine, brown bear in Abruzzo. Photograph: Bruno D’Amicis/NPLThe biggest threat to the bears is humans, so conservationists realised that people living in these remote towns needed to want to protect them.There was a climate which was against the bear. We had to do something in a more practical wayOne reason the bear population is doing so well is because so many people left the region. A blurred photo of the village in 1905 shows hills stripped bare by grazing livestock and deforestation caused by the carbonari, or charcoal-makers.After the second world war, as Italy’s economy boomed, rural people left to work in the cities. As human pressure on the landscape declined, nature bounced back – the Marsican brown bear population now numbers about 60 individuals, and appears to be increasing. But the people who remained had forgotten how to live alongside large predators.Bear claw marks on tree bark in an Abruzzo beech forest. Photograph: Bruno D’Amicis/NPL/AlamyRelations were at their worst 10 years ago during the rein of Peppina, a 135kg “problem bear”, who raised cubs in the area for several years. She was known for her raids on people’s chickens, bees and orchards, hoovering up any food she could find. Mario Cipollone, of Rewilding Apennines, says she was “most vicious in these raids”.In 2014, tensions between local people and animals came to head when a young male bear was shot by a hobby farmer after it raided a chicken coop. Many people supported the man, who claimed he was attacked by the bear. There are no documented cases of Marsican bears killing humans, and they are generally shy and avoid contact with people.Cipollone says: “There was a climate which was against the bear.” The bear’s death created a paradigm shift. “We had to do something in a more practical way,” he says.Mario Cipollone, of Rewilding Apennines, with a bear-proof bin in Pettorano sul Gizio. Photograph: Angela Tavone/Rewilding ApenninesSo in 2015, Pettorano sul Gizio became the first “bear-smart” community in Italy. Electric fences were erected around more than 100 properties to protect bees, chickens and other farm animals; gates and bear-proof bins were installed; and manuals on how best to live alongside bears were distributed around Pettorano sul Gizio and the neighbouring town of Rocca Pia.These places make me think that we can do something, that best practices really existResidents are urged not to leave food out; ripe fruit is picked off the ground in orchards and food waste kept indoors until the rubbish is collected. Since 2014, “there has been a dramatic decline in damage”, says Cipollone.Peppina’s successor, Barbara, prowls the alleyways of Pettorano sul Gizio but she no longer causes any damage. By 2017, there had been a 99% reduction in bear raids compared with three years earlier, according to data from Salviamo L’Orso, a bear conservation organisation, who also says there have been no damages since 2020.“The amount of damage has almost been eradicated,” says Cipollone. “We made everything bear-proof.”An infographic in Pettorano sul Gizio outlining the lifestyle and habits of the Mariscan bears. Photograph: Phoebe Weston/The GuardianOther European countries are taking note. There are now 18 bear-smart communities across Europe, funded by the EU’s Life environmental programme.While depopulation may have drawn bears to the region, in Pettorano sul Gizio bears are now bringing back people.It’s not just about tourism. It’s about making people believe they can remain here and have a very good lifeLast October, Valeria Barbi, an environmental journalist and naturalist, visited the bear-smart community and liked the town so much she decided to stay.“This place has made me shine again in a certain way,” she says. “I was a little bit overwhelmed about the [global] ecological situation. But these places make me think we can do something, that best practices really exist.”The afternoon sun warms the mountain village of Pettorano sul Gizio in the province of L’Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. Photograph: Stefano Valeri/AlamyMilena Ciccolella, owner of Il Torchio restaurant, describes the rewilding events as “a real lifesaver in economic terms”, so much so that they are now offering vegetarian food on their once meat-dominated daily menu to coax in nature-loving travellers.Mario Finocchi, president of the Valleluna Cooperative Society, says: “There is an increasing trend in the presence of tourists in the area. Some people who came as tourists then decided to buy a house here.”The number of tourists staying in Pettorano sul Gizio has increased from about 250 in 2020 to more than 2,400 last year, according to accommodation data collected by Valleluna.It is good to have tourism, but “it is important to have people actually living here,” says Finocchi. “There is a new young community who have come here because of bears, who are working on socially and culturally enriching the town.”Marsican brown bears playing among autumn foliage in Central Apennines, Abruzzo. Photograph: Bruno D’Amicis/NPL/AlamyIn the evenings, dozens of people can be found outside La Pizzicheria Di Costantino, which sells large hunks of local cheeses and hams, alongside bear-themed beer. The owner, Massimiliano del Signore, who runs it with his wife, says they moved here for the nature, tranquility and people.“We fell in love and decided to invest in the area,” he says. “It is not just about tourism. It’s about making people believe they can remain here and have a very good life.”Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage

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Outgoing Biden Interior Department announces flurry of new wilderness protections

The Biden administration on Monday proposed two rounds of new environmental protections for sites in the western U.S., beginning a process that would extend into the incoming Trump administration. The first protections announced apply to Nevada’s Ruby Mountains and would protect the range from mining for 20 years, beginning with a two-year segregation period during...

The Biden administration on Monday proposed two rounds of new environmental protections for sites in the western U.S., beginning a process that would extend into the incoming Trump administration. The first protections announced apply to Nevada’s Ruby Mountains and would protect the range from mining for 20 years, beginning with a two-year segregation period during which no new mining claims would be allowed on an area spanning about 264,000 acres. “The Ruby Mountains are cherished by local communities for their scenic value, cultural heritage, numerous wildlife and benefit to the local economy through a thriving outdoor recreation industry,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Monday. “Today, we are taking an important and sensible step to pause new mining claims to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to inform proposed protections of the Ruby Mountains area for future generations.” The new protections will be subject to a 90-day public comment period, which will stretch into the first months of the second Trump administration. The department also announced permanent protections in Grand Teton National Park and the $100 million purchase of a 640-acre parcel of land from the state of Wyoming. Prior to the sale, it was the biggest unprotected swath of land within the national park. The land includes the beginning of a key migration corridor for the pronghorn, an antelope-like mammal with a habitat range spanning from Canada to parts of Texas. “People from every state come to Grand Teton National Park each year to enjoy the stunning landscapes and iconic wildlife protected in the park,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a statement. “We are grateful for the support of countless stewards in the park’s local community, Wyoming and across the nation who contributed their voices leading to this incredible conservation achievement that will benefit generations to come.” In his first term, Trump rolled back Obama-era protections for two western national monuments, the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments. President Biden restored those protections in 2021.

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Musician Corb Lund on Alberta coal mines: ‘they’re going to ruin our ground water’ 

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South Korea's Mountain of Plastic Waste Shows Limits of Recycling

By Joyce LeeSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has won international praise for its recycling efforts, but as it prepares to host talks for a global...

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has won international praise for its recycling efforts, but as it prepares to host talks for a global plastic waste agreement, experts say the country's approach highlights its limits.When the talks known as INC-5 kick off in Busan next week, debate is expected to centre around whether a U.N. treaty should seek to limit the amount of plastic being made in the first place.Opponents of such an approach, including major plastic and petrochemical producers like Saudi Arabia and China, have argued in previous rounds that countries should focus on less contentious topics, such as plastic waste management.South Korea says that it recycles 73% of its plastic waste, compared to about 5%-6% in the United States, and the country might seem to be a model for a waste management approach.The bi-monthly MIT Technology Review magazine has rated South Korea as "one of the world’s best recycling economies", and the only Asian country out of the top 10 on its Green Future Index in 2022.But environmental activists and members of the waste management industry say the recycling numbers don't tell the whole story.South Korea's claimed rate of 73% "is a false number, because it just counts plastic waste that arrived at the recycling screening facility - whether it is recycled, incinerated, or landfilled afterward, we don't know," said Seo Hee-won, a researcher at local activist group Climate Change Center.Greenpeace estimates South Korea recycles only 27% of its total plastic waste. The environment ministry says the definition of waste, recycling methods and statistical calculation vary from country to country, making it difficult to evaluate uniformly.South Korea's plastic waste generation increased from 9.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 12.6 million tonnes in 2022, a 31% jump in three years partly due to increased plastic packaging of food, gifts and other online orders that mushroomed during the pandemic, activists said. Data for 2023 has not been released.A significant amount of that plastic is not being recycled, according to industry and government sources and activists, sometimes for financial reasons.At a shuttered plastic recycling site in Asan, about 85 km (53 miles) south of Seoul, a mountain of about 19,000 tonnes of finely ground plastic waste is piled up untreated, emitting a slightly noxious smell. Local officials said the owner had run into money problems, but could not provide details."It will probably take more than 2-3 billion won ($1.43 million-$2.14 million) to remove," said an Asan regional government official. "The owner is believed unable to pay, so the cleanup is low priority for us."Reuters has reported that more than 90% of plastic waste gets dumped or incinerated because there is no cheap way to repurpose it, according to a 2017 study.South Korean government's regulations on single-use plastic products have also been criticised for being inconsistent. In November 2023, the environment ministry eased restrictions on single-use plastic including straws and bags, rolling back rules it had strengthened just a year earlier."South Korea lacks concrete goals toward reducing plastic use outright, and reusing plastic," said Hong Su-yeol, director of Resource Circulation Society and Economy Institute and an expert on the country's waste management.Nara Kim, a Seoul-based campaigner for plastic use reduction at Greenpeace, said South Korea's culture of valuing elaborate packaging of gifts and other items needs to change, while other activists pointed to the influence of the country's petrochemical producers."Companies are the ones that pay the money, the taxes," said a recycling industry official who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, adding that this enabled them to wield influence. "The environment ministry is the weakest ministry in the government."The environment ministry said South Korea manages waste over the entire cycle from generation to recycling and final disposal.The government has made some moves to encourage Korea Inc to recycle, including its petrochemical industry that ranks fifth in global market share.President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the G-20 summit on Tuesday that "efforts to reduce plastic pollution must also be made" for sustainable development, and that his government will support next week's talks.The government has changed regulations to allow companies like leading petrochemical producer LG Chem to generate naphtha, its primary feedstock, by recycling plastic via pyrolysis. SK Chemicals' depolymerisation chemical recycling output has already been used in products such as water bottles as well as tyres for high-end EVs.Pyrolysis involves heating waste plastic to extremely high temperatures causing it to break down into molecules that can be repurposed as a fuel or to create second-life plastic products. But the process is costly, and there is also criticism that it increases carbon emissions."Companies have to be behind this," said Jorg Weberndorfer, Minister Counsellor at the trade section of the EU Delegation to South Korea."You need companies who really believe in this and want to have this change. I think there should be an alliance between public authorities and companies."(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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Japan's Mount Fuji Eyes China-Made Tram to Transport Hikers, Source Says

By Mariko KatsumuraTOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese authorities seeking to reduce the carbon footprint and overcrowding at Mount Fuji will propose a...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese authorities seeking to reduce the carbon footprint and overcrowding at Mount Fuji will propose a trackless, rubber-tyred tram system made by China's CRRC to transport climbers, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.The new proposal, which has not been previously reported, would replace the original plan to build a light-rail system connecting the base to the fifth hiking station of the popular Yoshida Trail to the top after a local city and other parties, voiced concern over its environmental and cost impact.Yamanashi Prefecture, home of the most popular route used by climbers of the 3,776-metre (12,3388-foot) volcano, is set to announce the plan soon, the person told Reuters, asking for anonymity because the information is not yet public.Mount Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan, whose numbers have surged in recent years.Pollution from the constant stream of tourist buses and cars arriving at the fifth station, as well as overcrowding on the trails, have become headaches for authorities seeking to clean up the site, which Japanese people hold sacred.Mount Fuji was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013, further boosting its appeal. But the distinction came on the condition that Japan reduce overcrowding, environmental harm from visitors, and fix the artificial landscape, such as the large parking lots constructed to accommodate tourists.Shanghai-listed CRRC's "Autonomous Rapid Transit" is a new-generation tram that uses magnetic road markings and can be operated unmanned.Yamanashi prefecture plans to use locally produced hydrogen to power the tram, the source said. The transit system is expected to slash the project's cost by as much as 40% from the roughly 140 billion yen ($895 million) estimated for the rail system, said the source.The new plan would allow the prefecture to use the existing Fuji Subaru Line toll road and prohibit the entry of all private vehicles and sightseeing buses, the person said. The prefecture hopes to conduct a pilot run as early as the next fiscal year starting in April.Yamanashi is also aiming to build a tram network that would extend to local municipalities and connect to a magnetic levitation rail system planned by Central Japan Railway in the 2030s, the person said.Yamanashi prefecture declined to comment on the plan.During the summer climbing season between July to September this year, the mountain hosted 204,316 climbers. Authorities have said they hoped to control the number of visitors through a public transit system.(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Christian Schmollinger)Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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