Species of Greatest Conservation Need

1279 species
Taxonomic Group
Federal Status
State Status
Endemic

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Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Updated: 01/31/2024)
Common Name Scientifc Name Taxonomic Group Federal Status State Status Global Rank State Rank Endemic General Habitat Type(s)
scented croton Croton suaveolens Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Grasslands at middle elevations in mountains; Perennial; Flowering April-Nov; Fruiting June-Nov
Terlingua Creek cat's-eye Cryptantha crassipes Plants LE E G1 S1 True On low, seemingly barren, xeric hills of gypseous clay and chalky shales of the Boquillas Formation; flowering late March-early June; fruiting April-July
Payson's hiddenflower Cryptantha paysonii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S1 False Rocky limestone slopes in mountains; Perennial; Flowering May; Fruiting May-June
marsh-elder dodder Cuscuta attenuata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1G3 S2 False Parasitizes a particular sumpweed (Iva annua) almost exclusively as well as ragweed and heath aster. Host plants typically found in open, disturbed habitats like fallow fields and creek bottomlands; Annual; Flowering late summer through October
tree dodder Cuscuta exaltata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Parasitic on various Quercus, Juglans, Rhus, Vitis, Ulmus, and Diospyros species as well as Acacia berlandieri and other woody plants; Annual; Flowering May-Oct; Fruiting July-Oct
giant sharpstem umbrella-sedge Cyperus cephalanthus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3?Q S1 False In Texas on saturated, fine sandy loam soils, along nearly level fringes of deep prairie depressions; also in depressional area within coastal prairie remnant on heavy black clay; in Louisiana, most sites are coastal prairie on poorly drained sites, some on slightly elevated areas surrounded by standing shallow water, and on moderately drained sites; soils include very strongly acid to moderately alkaline silt loams and silty clay loams; flowering/fruiting May-June, August-September, and possibly other times in response to rainfall
Mohlenbrock's sedge Cyperus grayioides Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S3S4 False Deep sand and sandy loam in dry, almost barren openings in upland longleaf pine savannas, mixed pine-oak forests, and post oak woodlands; Occurs primarily in deep, periodically disturbed sandy soils in open areas maintained by factors such as wind, erosion, or fire. This species does not occur in shaded areas or in areas of high competition with other herbaceous species. Habitats include remnant sand prairies, sandy fields, sand blow outs, sandhill woodlands, pine barrens, and open barrens in which the slope is sufficient to produce sand erosion. May also occur in areas where the soils have been disturbed by logging or road construction; Perennial
dune umbrella-sedge Cyperus onerosus Plants Not Listed T G2 S2 True Moist to wet sand in swales and other depressions among active or partially stabilized sand dunes; flowering/fruiting late summer-fall
Southern lady's-slipper Cypripedium kentuckiense Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S1 False Primarily restricted to calciphilic hardwood slope forests, mesic ravines, hardwood terraces above floodplains, and seepage slopes; flowering late March-May
dune dalea Dalea austrotexana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 True Restricted to deep loose sands of active and somewhat stabilized dunes in South Texas (Carr 2015).
Cox's dalea Dalea bartonii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Semi-desert shortgrass grasslands with scattered pinyon pine and juniper in gravelly soils on limestone hills; probably flowering in late spring, fruiting in late summer-early fall, may flower in response to rainfall
Hall's prairie clover Dalea hallii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 True In grasslands on eroded limestone or chalk and in oak scrub on rocky hillsides; Perennial; Flowering May-Sept; Fruiting June-Sept
Comanche Peak prairie clover Dalea reverchonii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2S3 True Shallow, calcareous clay to sandy clay soils over limestone in grasslands or openings in post oak woodlands, often among sparse vegetation in barren, exposed sites, most known sites are underlain by Goodland Limestone, most known sites are on roadway right-of-ways; flowering April-June, one account for October
Sabinal prairie clover Dalea sabinalis Plants Not Listed Not Listed GH SH True Information sketchy, but probably in rocky soils or on limestone outcrops in sparse grassland openings in juniper-oak woodlands; flowering April-May or May -June
Guadalupe Mountains mescal bean Dermatophyllum guadalupense Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S1 False One-seeded juniper (Juniperus monosperma) shrublands on dry slopes above 1,500 m (4,900 ft) elevation in Guadalupe Mountains on slightly gypseous pink sandstone that occurs as lenses within the pervasive limestone of the region; flowering late March-late April or May
net-leaf bundleflower Desmanthus reticulatus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 True Mostly on clay prairies of the coastal plain of central and south Texas; Perennial; Flowering April-July; Fruiting April-Oct
Lindheimer's tickseed Desmodium lindheimeri Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S1 False Known in Texas only from three locations; US habitat is uncertain; has been found along rocky bed of dry ravine and among brush on the banks, steep ravine banks, dry caliche flat roadsides, in shallow soil on outcrops; occurred in deep to partial shade and openings in live oak-juniper woodland associations on the Edwards Limestone; flowering August-October or November.
Don Richards' spring moss Donrichardsia macroneuron Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Shaded limestone rocks partially submerged in rapidly flowing relatively thermally constant water at a spring complex in a short 10 m (30 ft) run between the spring source and the river.
Standley's draba Draba standleyi Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2G3 S1 False Crevices in sparsely vegetated igneous boulders and rock outcrops at high elevations in pine-oak-juniper woodlands; flowering June-October
lila de los Llanos Echeandia chandleri Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2G3 S2S3 False Most commonly encountered among shrubs or in grassy openings in subtropical thorn shrublands on somewhat saline clays of lomas along Gulf Coast near mouth of Rio Grande; also observed in a few upland coastal prairie remnants on clay soils over the Beaumont Formation at inland sites well to the north and along railroad right-of-ways and cemeteries; flowering (May-) September-December, fruiting October-December
Green Island echeandia Echeandia texensis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True On somewhat saline clays of lomas along the Gulf Coast near the mouth of Rio Grande, a habitat shared with E. chandleri; both species grow in areas dominated by herbaceous species with scattered brush and stunted trees, or in grassy openings in subtropical thorn shrublands; flowers April, June, and November, and likely in other months, as well
Topeka purple-coneflower Echinacea atrorubens Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Occurring mostly in tallgrass prairie of the southern Great Plains, in blackland prairies but also in a variety of other sites like limestone hillsides; Perennial; Flowering Apr-June
Chisos Mountains hedgehog cactus Echinocereus chisosensis Plants LT T G2T1 S1 True Degraded desert grasslands or open shrublands on unconsolidated gravelly fan and terrace deposits on desert flats and low hills at moderate elevations of about 600-800 m (1950-2600 ft) in the Chihuahuan Desert, almost always found under the shelter of a nursery plant; flowering March-April, perhaps July, fruit maturing May-June, perhaps as late as August
golden-spine hedgehog cactus Echinocereus chloranthus var. neocapillus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G4T1 S1 True Sparsely vegetated desert grasslands over novaculite outcrops; flowering late March-early May
Texas claret-cup cactus Echinocereus coccineus var. paucispinus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G5T3 S3 False Mountains, hills, and mesas, igneous and limestone, oak-juniper-pinyon woodland or juniper woodland on limestone mesas, mostly rocky habitats but also in alluvial basins, grasslands, or among mesquite or other shrubs. Flowering March - April (Powell and Weedin 2004).