Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Pecos Sunflower: By Tori Saunders

Pecos Sunflower: Warming Up Our Lives- Daily
By Tori M. Saunders 

 My family loves sunflowers and for as long as I can remember, we've had tall, radiant sunflowers thriving in our backyard. I never imagined that sunflowers would be on an Endangered Species List... but, as Helen Keller once said, "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It's what the sunflowers do". Perhaps this is a way to look at the situation positively,   as protection plan to ensure these beautiful flowers get the adiquite protection they deserve. 

Description: Pecos Sunflower is an annual, herbaceous plant. It can be seen at 1-3m tall, and branched at the top. The leaves are opposite towards the bottom, alternate towards the top, and can be identified by their distinct lance-shape and three prominent veins. Flower heads are 5-7 cm in diameter with bright yellow rays around a dark purplish brown center. Pecos sunflower looks much like the common sunflower, but differs with its narrower leaves and smaller flower heads. Pecos sunflower usually bloom in September and October and occupies wet, saline soil habitats. *One noteworthy mutation occurs within the Bitter Lakes population in southeastern New Mexico. A few small patches of Pecos sunflowers here produce bright red ray flowers with yellow tips within the larger population of plants with yellow ray flowers.*


Geography and Population: Pecos sunflower is a wetland plant that grows on wet, alkaline soils at spring seeps, wet meadows, stream courses and pond margins. Pecos sunflower is presently known from only seven populations, two in west Texas and five in New Mexico. These populations are dependent upon wetlands from natural groundwater deposits. Incompatible land uses, habitat degradation and loss, and groundwater withdrawals are historic and current threats to the survival of Pecos sunflower. Most Pecos sunflower habitats are limited to less than two hectares of wetland. The number of sunflowers per site varies from less than 100 to several hundred thousand. Because Pecos sunflower is an annual, the number of plants per site can fluctuate greatly from year to year depending on that years precipitation and depth to groundwater. This sunflower is completely dependent on water-saturated soil conditions within the soil root zone. If a wetland habitat dries out permanently, even a large population of Pecos sunflower would disappear. 
>link to a map showing the areas Pecos Sunflowers populate: url 

Listing Date and Type of Listing: Pecos sunflower was given threatened species status on October 20, 1999.

Main threats to existence: As an annual species, Pecos sunflowers must re-establish populations of adult plants each year from seed produced during the previous year or years’ reproductive efforts. This is difficult due to common threats that include: 
  •  Habitat destruction: The loss or alteration of wetland habitat is the main threat to Pecos sunflower. 
  • Over-utilization: Unregulated commercial sale of Pecos sunflower seed was documented in the past as well as seed collection for cross breeding programs to increase salt tolerance in common sunflower cultivars. 
  •  Predation: Occurs when Livestock eat Pecos sunflowers when other green forage is scarce, and this is when the buds are developing and abundant. Cattle and horses also tend to pull off the flower heads, which can reduce seed production.
  •  Inadequate protection and regulation: The ESA does not prohibit or control the take of Pecos sunflower on private, tribal, or State lands. 
 Description of Recovery Plan: The recovery strategy is to protect and manage significant, sustainable portions of each of the four region’s sunflower habitat against the threat of future habitat loss and degradation, and as needed, from any other threats to the sunflower. In addition, at least one isolated stand of Pecos sunflower should be protected in each region. Core conservation areas and isolated stands could also include presently unoccupied habitats where Pecos sunflower could be successfully reintroduced within its historic range. Such reintroductions should utilize seed from adjacent populations within the region to maintain genetic integrity and optimize the opportunity for successful reintroduction, and follow other guidelines set out in the Policy Regarding Controlled Propagation of Species Listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Sources:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Pecos Sunflower Recovery Plan. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 39 pp. 3
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Pecos Sunflower Recovery Plan. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 39 pp.7

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Pecos Sunflower Recovery Plan. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 39 pp. 12
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Pecos Sunflower Recovery Plan. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 39 pp. 16
Service, U.s. Fish & Wildlife. Pecos Sunflower (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
"Species Profile for Pecos Sunflower (Helianthus Paradoxus)." Species Profile for Pecos      Sunflower (Helianthus Paradoxus). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
>Images in appearance order, respectfully:


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