The Bluebonnets (Lupinus) of Texas

Authors

Lloyd H. Shinners, Southern Methodist University

Publication Date

10-1-1953

Abstract

By act of the legislature, Lupinus subcarnosus was designated the official state flower of Texas. Most of the bluebonnets in the state are thereby excluded from recognition as state flowers, a consequence of lack of sufficient taxonomic study. When the conservative opinions of a Sereno Watson and the exceedingly liberal ones of a Charles Piper Smith agree in treating our two most widespread annual species as a single one, it may seem ultra-Rafinesquian to resurrect any names from synonymy. Nevertheless there are several distinct (albeit closely related) species in Texas, as indicated in the key and notes below. Surprisingly, there are large portions of the state with no native bluebonnets. The northeasternmost record of Lupinus texensis (in Titus County) represents an obvious escape from cultivation.

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Recommended Citation

Shinners, Lloyd H. (1953) "The Bluebonnets (Lupinus) of Texas," Field and Laboratory: Vol. 21 : No. 4.
Available at: https://scholar.smu.edu/fieldandlab/vol21/iss4/6