Bluebonnet is a name given to any of a number of purple-flowered species of the genus '' Lupinus'' predominantly found in southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and is collectively the state flower of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The shape of the petals on the flower resembles the bonnet worn by pioneer women to shield them from the sun. Species often called bluebonnets include: *''

Lupinus argenteus ''Lupinus argenteus'' is a species of lupine known by the common name silvery lupine. It is native to much of western North America from the southwestern Canadian provinces to the southwestern and midwestern United States, where it grows in seve ...

'', silvery lupine *''

Lupinus concinnus ''Lupinus concinnus'' is a species of lupine known by the common name Bajada lupine. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas, and northern Mexico, where it is known from many types of habitat. This is a hairy erec ...

'', Bajada lupine *'' Lupinus havardii'', Big Bend bluebonnet or Chisos bluebonnet *'' Lupinus perennis'', wild lupine or blue lupine *'' Lupinus plattensis'', Nebraska lupine *'' Lupinus subcarnosus'', sandyland bluebonnet or buffalo clover *''

Lupinus texensis ''Lupinus texensis'', the Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine is a species of lupine found in Texas, and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. With other related species of lupines also called bluebonnets, it is the state ...

'', Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine On March 7, 1901, ''Lupinus subcarnosus'' became the only species of bluebonnet recognized as the state flower of Texas; however, ''Lupinus texensis'' emerged as the favorite of most

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by b ...

s. So, in 1971, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

made any similar species of ''Lupinus'' that could be found in Texas the state flower. Despite the common belief among Texans that picking bluebonnets is illegal in the state, this is a myth, and there are no laws that specifically prohibit picking them. As an extension of

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 whe ...

's efforts at highway beautification in the United States (see

Highway Beautification Act In the United States, highway beautification is the subject of the Highway Beautification Act (HBA), passed in the Senate on September 16, 1965 and in the U.S. House of Representatives on October 8, 1965, and signed by the President Lyndon B. Jo ...

), she encouraged the planting of native plants along Texas highways after she left the White House. Bluebonnet blooms are now a common sight along these highways in the springtime. They serve as a popular backdrop for family photographs, and the Department of Public Safety issues safety recommendations with regard to drivers pulling off highways to take such pictures.

Bluebonnets in media

Books

* 1983: ''The Legend of the Bluebonnet'', by

Tomie dePaola Thomas Anthony "Tomie" dePaola (; September 15, 1934 – March 30, 2020) was an American writer and illustrator who created more than 260 children's books, such as ''Strega Nona''. He received the Children's Literature Legacy Award for his lifetim ...

College football

The

Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 19 ...

was an annual

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

postseason

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, played in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in late December from

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

through 1987.

References

{{US state flowers Texas culture Plant common names Lupinus