Hello. Welcome to the endanger species plant segment. I am Cyndi and I am your host. Today we will be learning about one of the many endangered plants that is close to our home. The Pecos Sunflower or Hellianthus Paradoxusis an annual flower that is native to West Central and Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. this Species belongs to:
Image sources: http:/www.nature.org
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliopside
Order: Asterales
Famly: Astereceae
This plant, like all other plants obtains it's food by a process known as as Photosynthesis. A process by which plants use water and energy from the sun to produce chlorophyll. This beautiful flower is currently listed as a threatened species in Texas and as an endangered species in New Mexico. The plant actually made the endangered species list in 1999. The Pecos Sunflower looks similar to the regular sunflower, but it has a slightly red tip on the cluster.
The population explosion of these areas caused the wetland areas where the plant grows to become scarce. In addition, wetlands were filled in to produce grazing areas for livestock. This drastically dropped the plants population. The flower grows between August and October.
The Pecos Sunflower is a true species of sunflower that survives and grows well in soil with high alkaline levels. Researches are currently studying the genes from the Pecos Sunflower to aid in the improvement of Agriculture Sunflowers. This makes the Pecos Sunflowers very appealing to the biospectors.
The process of global warming speeds the evaporation of the wetlands that the plant is native to. This causes the species to become even more endangered. There are currently several projects in place to aid in the repopulating of the Pecos Sunflower.
And that's all for this episode of the Pecos Sunflower.
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