Staff members at Big Bend National Park in Texas were sure in for a surprise when they stumbled upon a rare looking plant that almost looks straight out of a cartoon!

The tiny plant is furry looking, and is currently affectionately being referred to as a "wooly devil" due to the interesting appearance of the plant- and it's devil looking horns! The plant itself has had quite the journey upon its discovery back in March of 2024- when a park volunteer and a supervisory interpretive park ranger at Big Bend National Park found the little plant growing among rocks.

Botanists got excited after the volunteer uploaded a photo of the plant to a science app  called iNaturalist. Joining forces with the park staff were The California Academy of Sciences, Sul Ross University, and Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional who performed a genetic analysis and found that the plant was not just a new species but an entirely new genus!

Officially named Ovicula biradiata is found to be closer related to daisies! The name Ovicula biradiata derives from Latin: "Ovicula" means "tiny sheep," referencing the plant's thick white "wool" covering its leaves, and "biradiata" refers to the two conspicuous ray petals in each flower. It's also pretty small, it can be less than half an inch to about 3 inches across according to researchers!

While the discovery has been monumental, researchers say there's still a lot to learn about this tiny plant! Big Bend National Park Superintendent Anjna O’Connor says:

I’m excited to discover whether there are other populations in the park, details of its life cycle, what are the pollinators, and due to the current drought, if it will be observed at all this spring.

You can read all about the discovery here.