Bluebells - Texas' Other Blue Wildflower
Bluebonnets may steal the show in April, but the bluebell is just as iconic.
In Texas, the most popular spring wildflower is hands down the Texas bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis. It’s the state flower, and you will see hoards of Texans crowding certain roadsides in late March through April every year, taking family photos and in general ogling the beautiful blooms that are interspersed with another common spring roadside flower, the paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa.
Most of this wildflower bloom is due to the work of the late Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. She originally lead the way, with her husband, in getting the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 passed. Later, she worked with the Texas Department of Transportation to beautify the roadsides here in the state.
But beyond bluebonnets, there are an array of other fanciful blooms that are just as gorgeous and probably more showstopping than the bluebonnet. One of those are the prairie gentians, or the Eustoma genus. iNaturalist recognizes that there are three species occurring in Texas, and the one with the common name Texas bluebell is Eustoma grandiflorum. The other two are Eustoma exaltatum, catchfly prairie gentian, and Eustoma russellianum, showy prairie gentian. But if you do any sort of reading on the genus you’ll find the taxonomy is a little messy, with E. rusellianum being considered a ssp. of exaltatum by some, and others merging grandiflorum in with rusellianum. For the sake of simplicity and because I am not a taxonomist, I’ll go with what iNaturalist is providing at the moment.
If you think these flowers look familiar it is because they have been bred to be many different forms and colors under the name lisianthus! There are some stunning cut-flower varieties out there that I’ve been tempted to try in my own garden. And if you are in Texas you are well aware of the Bluebell ice cream brand, which is named for the iconic flower!
The genus prefers sunny locations in prairie settings, though rusellianum can be found along stream banks and wet meadows. E. exaltatum can be found along coastal prairies and I discovered one last summer clinging to the sandiest upland adjacent to a remote, upper Texas coast beach.
My photos here were taken at Tandy Hills in east Fort Worth over a decade ago. This subtle blue-purple flower deserves more respect than it gets, being overshadowed by other grand Texas natives like the bluebonnet. Much of this may be due to the fact that historically the plant would be picked (because of all of those wildflower seekers), and being as bluebells are annuals to short-lived perennials, once you pick a flower it has no chance to set seed. And if dozens or hundreds of people are picking through a population, the flowers will never get the chance to reseed.
As I look back at these photos, I am itching for spring to roll around. Looking at photos will have to suffice for now, but I will say violets are starting to bloom here. The first Viola primulifolia’s were blooming this weekend, which means in a few short months it will be Texas bluebell season once again.
A programming note: I’ll be writing posts here every two weeks for the time being. I have several writing projects I’m juggling and sometimes there’s a lot of research that goes into these posts that a weekly entry here won’t cut. In the meantime, please share the newsletter, or your favorite post so far, with other nature enthusiasts!
Misti writes at Oceanic Wilderness regularly. She can be found on Instagram at @oceanicwilderness and hosts two podcasts, Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast and The Garden Path Podcast.
I love those photos of the petals showing leafcutter outlines! I made some observations like that during my bee surveys last summer.