Texas Poppy Mallow
Plant : endangered
Background
Species has been endangered since January 13,1981.The blooming of the plant usually happens from May to June. The flowers open each morning 2-3 hours after sunrise and close right before sunset. Within 30-90 minutes after pollination, the flowers close forever. If not pollinated, flowers continue to open each morning for 6-8 days
Threats leading to endangerment
Endangerment is caused by habitat loss due to farming, pasture planting, sand mining, and urban development. Another threat of the Texas Poppy Mallow is the amount of people that pick them from the ground. As the amount of plants being picked the weaker the reproductive capabilities' of the plant are.
Course of Action for Protection
The conservation staff from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and a team of colleagues collected specimens and seeds in an attempt to save them in 2010.They dug up the flowers’ deep roots from the river-deposited sands and transferred the 54 plants in PVC pipe “cradles” because the taproots were so long. Unfortunately more than 200 species are at risk and 28 of those species are listed as threatened or endangered.The poppy-mallow rescue would not have been possible without the cooperation of the landowners who, before the start of new construction on their property, contacted the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and researchers at Angelo State University .