HYMENOXYS TEXANA(Picture Take by Larry Allain USDA)
The Texas Prairie Dawn is an endangered flower found here in Texas only. If you live in Harris County you may have even encountered it.
It first showed up on the endangered list in the early months of 1985.
Although this flower is commonly known as Texas Prairie Dawn, its scientific name is Hymenoxys texana.
The Classification for the Hymenoxys texana is as follows:
*Kingdom - Plantae or Plant
*Subkingdom - Tracheobionta
*Superdivision - Spermatophyta
*Division - Magnoliophyta
*Class - Magnoliopsida
*Sublcass - Asteridae
*Order - Asterales
*Family - Asteraceae
*Genus - Hymenoxys Cass.
(Order provided by the US Dept. of Agriculture)
The Prairie Dawn is Eukaryotic, meaning its microscopic cells consists of a highly complex structure surrounded by a protective membrane. It is multicellular with millions of microscopic cells making up even the tinniest part. It would take 10 to 100 times amplification to even make out one of them under a microscope. Since the Prairie dawn is a plant it is stationary and immobile. Also because it is a plant, it uses photosynthesis to make its own food.
The Prairie Dawn is a flowering plant. This means that it does seed. In fact the plant seeds between April and May. The seeds for this particular plant have been described by the Center For Plant Conservation as "cone-shaped and hairy."
The habitat of the Prairie Dawn is actually right here in our own back yard, in and around, Harris county. The seedlings grow the best in open fields and grassland in specific types of soil and soil composition. That type of composition is defined by its salinity and acidity. It grows the best in sand like soil that receives ample amounts of hydration.
Unfortunately urbanization has not only been beating at the doors of this plant, but thanks to altering water flow and drainage a once sustainable water table has been heavily fluctuating causing the soil conditions to be unsustainable to the Prairie Dawn. This topic will be addressed later at the end.
The Prairie Dawn does not have any features that would make it useful to modern day bioprospectors. The only reason this plant has not been wiped out by construction and development is because it was placed on the endangered species list. If it did have any special features I would assume that they could also be found in their taller more prominent "brother" the sunflower.
The Prairie Dawn's biggest threat is not global warming, its people. Global warming might actually help this plant because it would make humans more understanding to the needs of our environment. Unfortunately, right now, the protection of rear species is not always at the top of our societal lists.
Lastly, I would like to mention that this plant's status is endangered. It was actually speculated that the plant was extinct in 1979, until it was found again by James Kessler in 1983. Since than efforts have been made by groups to protect this particular species from extinction. It is sad to think that the Prairie Dawn might have been extinct due to our constructional needs and land developing movements, if it wasn't for a select few groups working to preserve it.
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