Answers to Go

Q. When did the bluebonnet become the state flower of Texas? Is it really illegal to pick bluebonnets?

In 1901, the Texas Legislature A. decided the state of Texas needed to have a state flower. The open cotton boll and the prickly-pear cactus flower were two hot contenders. The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Texas suggested that the bluebonnet would be the most appropriate, and their opinion prevailed. The bluebonnet was approved by Governor Joseph D. Sayers on March 7, 1901.

However, the resolution named the Lupinus subcarnosus as the state flower. Texas legislators didn’t realize at the time that there were six species of bluebonnets within the borders of Texas, and the one they specified was not the most common one. According to The Texas Bluebonnet by Jean Andrews, “Lupinus subcarnosus is the delicate low plant that paints the sandy, rolling hills of Texas with waves of azure blue in the early spring. However, some citizens believed it was the least attractive of the Texas bluebonnets… Of the six [species] the consensus of bluebonnet lovers put forward Lupinus texensis, the larger, bolder, deeper blue beauty that blankets most of Central Texas.”

This complication was not resolved for another 70 years. According to Jean Andrews, “In 1971, in order to make certain they [legislators] would not be caught in another botanical trap, they covered all their bases in H.C.R. No. 44 without offending the L. subcarnosus boosters by offering an additional resolution that would include not only L. texensis but also ‘any other variety of Bluebonnet not heretofore recorded.’ We therefore have six state flowers, with the possibility of others if any new species are discovered or introduced.”

As far as the legalities of picking bluebonnets, “A spokesman for the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation said state law declares it a misdemeanor to ‘recklessly damage or destroy’ wild flowers along state-owned road rights-of-way. The department discourages the public from disturbing the flowers; however, law enforcement officials normally do not construe casual enjoyment of the plants, including picking, to be ‘reckless damage and destruction.’ However, it is unlawful to pick, dig up, or otherwise damage any plant found in a state or national park” (Andrews).