That's not a typo. Texas has six State flowers, all of them bluebonnets. This is the time of year they begin to weave their carpet of color all across the state.
Lupinus texensis
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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The Legend of the Bluebonnet
The Texas fields are covered
With a blanket of deep blue.
But for a little Indian girl,
This would not be true.
Texas land was buried and dry.
Rains just would not come.
Indians danced and prayed for rain,
And beat upon their drums.
The Chief made a proclamation.
He appealed to one and all.
A prized possession must be sacrificed
Before the rains would fall.
The Indian camp was silent,
While each person searched his heart.
But when it came to sacrifice,
With possessions they would not part.
Suddenly a little girl stepped forth,
Holding her blue-clad doll.
She placed it in the roaring fire
and raindrops began to fall.
The rain brought forth the grass,
Among its blades, flowers of blue.
To be a sign for all the time
Of a love so pure and true.
Author Unknown
Lupinus are part of the pea family and go by many names including Texas lupine, Buffalo clover, el conejo, and Wolf-flower. The name bluebonnet comes from their color and the fact that the flower resembles the sunbonnets worn by Texas pioneer women.
The seeds resemble velvety peas and have a unique, delayed germinating characteristic which allows the plants to survive years of drought and adverse growing conditions.
Bluebonnet seed pods
The history of how the bluebonnet became the state flower is an interesting one.
In the spring of 1901, the Texas Legislature got down to the serious business of selecting a state floral emblem and the ensuing battle was hot and heavy. One legislator spoke emotionally in favor of the cotton boll since cotton was king in Texas in those days. Another, a young man from Uvalde, extolled the virtues of the cactus so eloquently, noting the hardy durability of the plant and the orchid-like beauty of its flowers, that he earned the nickname of "Cactus Jack" which stuck with him for the rest of his life. He was John Nance Garner and later became vice president of the United States.
But the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Texas won the day. Their choice was Lupinus subcarnosus ("generally known as buffalo clover or bluebonnet," stated the resolution) and it was passed into law on March 7 without any recorded opposition.
And that's when the polite bluebonnet war was started.
Aggie-Horticulture
Some people preferred Lupinus texensis, a larger variety which covers most of the state. And so after 70 years the issue was settled diplomatically by including all species of bluebonnets.
WHEREAS, The Lupinus Texensis is considered the most beautiful species of bluebonnet and is to be found almost anywhere in the fields and along the highways of Texas; and
WHEREAS, Other varieties of bluebonnet also grow in the state, among them the Lupinus Subcarnosus, which was named State Flower of Texas by the 27th Legislature on March 7, 1901, at the request of the Colonial Dames in Texas; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Robert Ward Cutler, Texas Goodwill Ambassador by appointment of the Governor of Texas, with the cooperation of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Texas has asked this 62nd Legislature, 70 years after the bluebonnet was selected as official state flower, to include the Lupinus Texensis and any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded along with the Lupinus Subcarnosus for recognition as the official state flower of Texas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, the Senate concurring, That the Lupinus Texensis and any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded be recognized along with the Lupinus Subearnosus as the official state flower of the State of Texas.
HCR No.44
The six species so far include:
Lupinus texensis, Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine
Lupinus havardii, Big Bend bluebonnet or Chisos bluebonnet
Lupinus argenteus, silvery lupine
Lupinus concinnus, Bajada lupine
Lupinus plattensis, Nebraska lupine
Lupinus subcarnosus, sandyland bluebonnet or buffalo clover
Bluebonnets are not all blue. They can be pink, white and maroon. I've yet to see a white bluebonnet. The image below is by Joseph Marcus via The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
As the pollen in each flower looses viability the banner spot turns from white to pink to magenta.
Some years the fields and pastures are quite the sight to see . . .
Ennis, Texas April 2012 Photographer unknown
Updated to add the pink and white bluebonnets my neighbor directed me to today.
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