Southwest Highways March 2013 | Page 18

Lupinus subcarnosus

-Bill Carr, Texas Endemics

17 Southwest Highways & Fields

Southwest Plants: Bluebonnets

be saved for planting in the Fall, if the caterpillars haven’t gotten to them. The bluebonnet is one of the host plants of the pretty little Elfin and Hairstreak butterflies, another benefit of the wildflower.

There are at least five different species that are all considered the state flower of Texas. Lupinus subcarnosus is the species first designated as the state flower of Texas in 1901. It is called Texas bluebonnet, Buffaloclover, and Sandyland bluebonnet. This is a small plant with few flowers on the spike, but having bright blue flowers and a white spot that ages to purple. Its leaflets are rounded, like a child’s pudgy fingers, and the flower stalks are as low as 6 inches high, although they can grow to a foot or a little more. They are most commonly found in the sandy soils of south-central and coastal Texas. Because they are not as showy as some other species of bluebonnets, especially Lupinus texensis, there arose heated debate as to which species should be the state flower. In 1971 the state legislature decided to designate all currently known species and any others found in the future as the official state flower.

The favorite bluebonnet and the one that caused the most fuss in the debate over the state flower is Lupinus texensis, also called Texas bluebonnet, the one

most often planted on highway verges and in gardens. It has up to 50 flowers on each stalk and for this reason is the most showy of the species. As the flowers open from bottom to top on the spike, the unopened buds at the top are seen as a white spot from a distance. Each flower also has a white spot on its ‘face’. The five leaflets are more pointed than other species, making it look even more like a human hand. The flower stalks reach a height of about 2 feet tall, just right for toddlers to peak out of for the camera. This bluebonnet has the greatest range within Texas of all the bluebonnet species, which is another reason why so many more people identify with it than they do with the others.