AUSTIN — Texans never
tire of their special rite of spring — spotting the
first bluebonnets by the side of the road.
But most probably don't know the furious battle that led
to the sprightly wildflower being named the state flower
more than 100 years ago.
It was a duel of the sexes with many male lawmakers favoring
the hardy cactus or the business-friendly cotton boll as
best representative of the state.
But the ladies — specifically the National Society
of Colonial Dames of America — wanted Lupinus subcarnosus,
or buffalo clover as it was commonly called at the turn
of the century.
"The men being gentlemen basically ceded to the wishes
of the women and that is how the 'bluebonnet' became the
state flower," said Flo Oxley, program coordinator
at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
In March 1901, Lupinus subcarnosus became one of the first
state symbols.
But instead of ending the debate, Oxley said the designation
"essentially started a war." Unbeknownst to the
legislators, there was another known species of bluebonnet,
the showier Lupinus texensis.
"It was a much bigger, more robust flower, which some
folks thought better exemplified the spirit of Texas and
its people, as opposed to the subcarnosus, which had a very
dainty kind of flower," said Oxley.
On and off for the next 70 years, people pushed lawmakers
to rename the state flower to L. texensis. Finally in 1971,
the politicians found their compromises.
"They solved the problem by basically writing legislation
that said those two species plus any other that happened
to show up in the future would come under the umbrella of
the state flower," Oxley said.
There are now five known species. In addition to L. texensis,
which the Texas Department of Transportation scatters along
state byways, there are Big Bend/Chisos bluebonnet (L. Harvardii);
annual lupine (L. concinnus) and perennial bluebonnet (L.
plattensis).
Oxley said the triumph of the bluebonnet over the cactus
flower and cotton boll has worked out well.
"It should go down in history. It was very strategic,
everybody was happy, the ladies got what they wanted,"
she said. "Honestly, it is a very good symbol of the
Lone Star State."
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