Hidden away on one of the most remote tracts of nature center prairie grows the rarest of prairie plants. The Texas Prairie Dawn Flower is small and inconspicuous even to the expert eye.

Our plants are blooming now and generally bloom from March through April. Listed on both the State and Federal Endangered Species List, the flower is the only endangered species occurring at ABNC.

As an annual plant, it must regrow the next generation every year from seed. It only occurs in very specific prairie soils which have high salt content or are generally absent of other vegetation. It also prefers to grow in association with mima mounds in the prairie. These mounds may be one to three feet higher than average prairie topography and are made of sandy soils.

The Harris County area holds some of the highest populations of remaining Texas Prairie Dawn Flower. As the Houston area has grown, habitat for the plant has largely disappeared.

Sadly, the Endangered Species Act does not afford the same level of protection to plants as it does for animals. Plants on private lands have essentially no protection from the Endangered Species Act. Armand Bayou Nature Center provides some of the last refuge for this fragile remnant of the past. ABNC participates with the Federal Recovery Team to monitor the plant’s population trends.

An equally important element of the plant’s survival is ABNC’s ongoing prairie habitat management activities. Suppressing the growth of invasive woody plants and excluding feral hogs from the site are critical for the Texas Prairie Dawn to thrive.

Even though the plants occur in an area of no public access, you can enjoy knowing that this critically endangered species’ habitat is being conserved and restored at ABNC. ~ by Mark Kramer