Why some Texas bluebonnets are maroon
In the heart of Texas, bluebonnets paint the landscape, heralding the arrival of springtime. Across the state, cobalt hues adorn roadsides and expansive pastures — but wait, amid the iconic blooms of the Texas state flowers, a striking red hue stands out against the predominantly blue blanket of wildflowers.
The rumors are true: There are Texas maroon bluebonnets — and, to absolutely no one’s surprise, Aggies are the ones behind it.
Here’s what we know about the Texas maroon bluebonnet, a hybrid cultivar of the traditional state flower:
What’s the story on maroon bluebonnet?
The Alamo Fire bluebonnet, originally named the Texas Maroon, symbolizes the culmination of a multidecade initiative led by various individuals associated with Texas A&M University. According to the university’s horticultural department website, professor Jerry Parsons and horticulturist Greg Grant, an alumnus of the class of 1984, were tasked with designing a Texas flag layout using bluebonnets to honor the state’s sesquicentennial in 1986 at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
While traditional bluebonnets already existed, and reports of white bluebonnets were circulating among Texans, sightings of red-hued bluebonnets were unheard of — that is, until 2000 when the Texas Maroon bluebonnet was finally introduced.
Realizing the absence of red-hued bluebonnets, Parsons and Grant resolved to develop them. They initially examined a field containing pink bluebonnets, hoping to discover red ones. While they didn’t find any with red tints, they did discover pink bluebonnets with a faint blue hue, which Grant believed resembled maroon, according to a feature in AgriLeader Magazine — a student magazine at the university.
“When Grant saw that maroon bluebonnet, he fell out of the truck humming the ‘Aggie War Hymn,’” Parsons told AgriLeader. “It was a magical moment in Grant’s life.”
They gathered seeds from the pink and blue flowers, and, with the assistance of local farmers, successfully produced an entire crop that transitioned from pink with a blue tinge to dark pink, and ultimately to a deep maroon hue resembling the university’s color.
To continue the production of the maroon bluebonnet, Parsons partnered with John Thomas at Wildseed Farms.
Are there other bluebonnet colors?
In addition to the Texas Maroon bluebonnet, Parsons has cultivated three other bluebonnet colors:
Abbott Pink in 1993, named for the late naturalist Carroll Abbott.
Barbara Bush lavender in 1994.
Lady Bird Johnson Royal Blue in 2011.
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