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)
small fryxell-wort Fryxellia pygmaea Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 SH False West Texas, but actual county not identified; in Coahuila, Mexico, dry, open, Chihuahuan Desert hillside at an elevation of about 1250 m (4100 ft); probably flowers summer and fall, perhaps in response to rainfall
white firewheel Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri Plants Not Listed Not Listed G5T2 S2 True Open pine-oak woodlands and farkleberry sandhills in deep, loose, well-drained whitish sands; flowering late spring (May-June) and sporadically through early fall
Watson's milk-pea Galactia watsoniana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Usually growing on shaded, gently sloping terraces above creeks in mesic canyons of the southwestern Edwards Plateau. Vegetation is most often sparse with Quercus muehlenbergii and Acer grandidentatum being the dominant plants.
cliff bedstraw Galium correllii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S1 False Dry, steep or vertical limestone cliff faces of various exposures in Chihuahuan Desert along Rio Grande, Pecos River, and their tributaries, at elevations of 350-500 m (1150-1650 ft), resembles cliff swallow nests that are also found on limestone cliffs; flowering April-November, fruiting May-December
Boquillas lizardtail Gaura boquillensis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Mostly in sandy soils in desert canyons and arroyos, occasionally in gravelly limestone soils in Chihuahuan Desert scrub at low elevations; flowering March-August
prairie butterfly-weed Gaura triangulata Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S3 False Open sandy areas; Annual; Flowering March-June
woolly butterfly-weed Gaura villosa ssp. parksii Plants Not Listed Not Listed G5T3 S3 True Flats and hills of red sand of Rio Grande Plains (Raven and Gregory 1972). April-Oct.
brush-pea Genistidium dumosum Plants Not Listed T G1 S1 False Chihuahuan Desert scrub on rocky limestone hills at lower elevations; in Coahuila, also found on volcanic tuff and sandstone; flowering June-October
earth fruit Geocarpon minimum Plants LT T G2 S1 False In Texas, found on vegetated edges of slick spots in saline barren complex just above floodplain of Neches River, soils are claypan, hold late winter rains, with a spongy feel to the soil, drying quickly into hardened cement; topography includes pimple mounds with micro highs/lows; elsewhere, occurs in open, sparingly vegetated glades on shallow soils over sandstone outcrops; sometimes in shallow depressions within such areas and saline prairies; these soils are very thin and high in magnesium or sodium; mostly found on the cryptogamic lip along slick spot perimeter; flowering late February-March
South Texas gilia Gilia ludens Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 True Occurs in open areas in shrublands on shallow sandy loam over rock outcrops; Perennial; Flowering Dec-April; Fruiting March
Texas greasebush Glossopetalon texense Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Dry limestone ledges, chalk bluffs, and limestone outcrops; one population is on an extremely steep slope, inaccessible to most herbivores; flowering period uncertain, including at least June-December
plains gumweed Grindelia oolepis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2 S2 False Coastal prairies on heavy clay (blackland) soils, often in depressional areas, sometimes persisting in areas where management (mowing) may maintain or mimic natural prairie disturbance regimes; crawfish lands; on nearly level Victoria clay, Edroy clay, claypan, possibly Greta within Orelia fine sandy loam over the Beaumont Formation, and Harlingen clay; roadsides, railroad rights-of-ways, vacant lots in urban areas, cemeteries; flowering April-December
Blumberg's centaury Gyrandra blumbergiana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G1 S1 True Known from perennial seeps and associated drainages in limestone, sandstone, or gypseous canyons in the Chihuahuan Desert.
McKittrick pennyroyal Hedeoma apiculatum Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S2 False Boulders, cliffs, ledges, and other exposed Permian limestone surfaces in higher mountain canyons, usually on north facing slopes or similarly sheltered, relatively mesic sites, but occasionally in more nondescript soil pockets; surrounded by oak-maple woodland; flowering July-September
hairy false pennyroyal Hedeoma mollis Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3G4 S3S4 True Occurs in various mountain ranges (Carr 2015)
old blue pennyroyal Hedeoma pilosa Plants Not Listed Not Listed GH SH True Single historic record from open exposed limestone; flowering period unknown.
neglected sunflower Helianthus neglectus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2Q S2 False Deep sands on rolling hills and dunes of Pleistocene sand sheets, often associated with Havards shin oak dwarf woodlands or mesquite-sand sage woodlands; flowering July-September
Shinner's sunflower Helianthus occidentalis ssp. plantagineus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G5T4 S4 False �Mostly in prairies on the Coastal Plain, with several slightly disjunct populations in the Pineywoods and South Texas Brush Country.
Pecos sunflower Helianthus paradoxus Plants LT T G2 S1 False Restricted to saline, calcareous, heavy-textured soils around cienegas; usually most abundant on perennially wet soils of subirrigated terraces just above the wettest sites; flowering August-November
Dimmit sunflower Helianthus praecox ssp. hirtus Plants Not Listed Not Listed G4T2Q S2 True Bluestem midgrass grasslands on loose, well-drained, slightly acid, deep, sandy soils, mostly of Antosa-Bobilla Association and Poteet Series; underlain by Carrizo Sand Formation; flowering late summer-fall, dependent on periods of abundant rainfall, populations fluctuate greatly based on rainfall; apparently dependent on the maintenance of grassland habitat
Texas sunflower Helianthus praecox ssp. praecox Plants Not Listed Not Listed G4T2 S2 True Sandy open areas along the upper Texas coast; Annual; Flowering April-Sept
Mexican hesperaloe Hesperaloe funifera ssp. funifera Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3TNR S1 False Shrubland
red yucca Hesperaloe parviflora Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Shrublands on dry limestone slopes; Perennial; Flowering April-May; Fruiting May-June
Mexican mud-plantain Heteranthera mexicana Plants Not Listed Not Listed G2G3 S1 False Wet clayey soils of resacas and ephemeral wetlands in South Texas and along margins of playas in the Panhandle; flowering June-December, only after sufficient rainfall
Glass Mountains coral-root Hexalectris nitida Plants Not Listed Not Listed G3 S3 False Apparently rare in mixed woodlands in canyons in the mountains of the Brewster County, but encountered with regularity, albeit in small numbers, under Juniperus ashei in woodlands over limestone on the Edwards Plateau, Callahan Divide and Lampasas Cutplain; Perennial; Flowering June-Sept; Fruiting July-Sept