Springtime in Texas can be heaven on earth, especially when it comes to the colorful beauty of seasonal wildflowers. Did you know wildflowers have a rich history of folklore and legend? Too much to cover here. So, let’s look at one specific wildflower—the Texas Bluebonnet.
The Legend of the Bluebonnets
Many legends tell of how the first bluebonnets came to be. One of the most touching comes from the Comanche. It tells of a time when harsh weather brought severe drought and famine to the land, and many people died. The Great Spirit was angry at the tribe for their selfishness. To make things right, the medicine men said the people had to sacrifice their most precious possession, burning it, then scattering its ashes to the four winds.
One young girl—called She-Who-Is-Alone because she’d lost all her family—knew what she must do. That night, while the tribe slept, she climbed the hill with the cornhusk doll her mother had made clutched tightly in her hands. With tears in her eyes, she gave the deerskin-robed figure a last hug. She patted its horsehair braids decorated with blue feathers her father had gathered, then tossed it into the fire she’d built.
After it burned and the ashes cooled, little She-Who-Is-Alone scooped up the ashes and scattered them to the north, south, east, and west. Her mission complete, she lay down and slept. When she woke, a lush blanket of green grass covered the previously barren landscape. A heard of buffalo grazed in the valley below, and rain began to fall. And everywhere the ashes had landed bluebonnets grew as a reward for her selflessness.
From then on, she was known as She-Who-Loved-Her-Tribe-Dearly. And the Great Spirit rewarded her willingness to sacrifice her most prized possession by sending bluebonnets every spring.
Did You Know…
- Bluebonnet species Lupinus texensic and Lupinus subcarnosis are only found in Texas, but Texas isn’t the only state where bluebonnets can grow.
- There are more bluebonnets in Texas than anywhere else in the world.
The Legends of the White and Pink Bluebonnets
While most bluebonnets are blue and white, some are only white, and some come in varying shades of pink.
Years ago, Greg Grant, a horticulturist and plant developer for Texas A&M in Tyler, had an encounter with an elderly Hispanic woman in San Antonio. She told him the Mexican legends of the white and pink bluebonnets.
According to the old woman, one April she and her grandchildren were passing through a field of bluebonnets when her granddaughter found a white flower. When asked what it was, the grandmother told her it was a white bluebonnet. She said that some people believe the lone white star in the Texas state flag was designed to mirror the white bluebonnet in a sea of blue.
Then her grandson found a pink flower and asked what it was. The old woman explained it was an even rarer flower, a pink bluebonnet. She went on to tell them that when she was a little girl, her grandmother told her about living downstream from the Alamo mission as a child. At the time, Texas was still part of Mexico, but the cries to break free were growing, because the new Mexican dictator had overthrown the country’s constitution. The settlers’ complaints brought the dictator and his army to the area. General Santa Anna attacked the fortified old mission. And though the brave Texans fought gallantly, in the end, they were no match for the Mexican army.
The woman told her grandchildren how her grandmother’s mother found a pink bluebonnet near the river downstream from the Alamo years after the battle. It had been white but had turned pink after absorbing all the blood in the ground that had been shed during the battle.
According to the legend, wild pink bluebonnets can only be found near the San Antonio River within sight of the Alamo. These rare flowers are a symbol of those who died there, so other Texans could be free.
Did You Know…
- Bluebonnets that are other colors are still bluebonnets. They’re just called white bluebonnets, pink bluebonnets, etc.
- According to horticulturist Dr. Jerry Parsons, a retired Texas A&M University professor from San Antonio, the only place in the state where the original rare pink bluebonnets were found in the wild is along the road just south of downtown San Antonio.
- You can read the actual account of Greg Grant’s meeting with the elderly Hispanic woman. Just click here.