(HOUSTON) — Bluebonnets are in flower all across Texas, but at the University of Texas in Austin, some of the flowers are maroon – the school color of rival Texas A&M.
It just happens that the “maroon” variety of bluebonnets was developed at A&M, and a lot of Longhorns believe it’s a prank rooted firmly in College Station.
For now, there are only patches of maroon-bonnets here and there, but they are likely to spread every year just like their parent plant, the bluebonnet. The UT Austin campus could find itself in a sea of A&M maroon in the near future.
Horticulturalist Bart Brechter is the curator of gardens at Bayou Bend, which is part of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He says the flowers are the work of Aggie horticulturists Dr. Jerry Parsons and Greg Grant.
Oddly, they weren’t shooting for maroon. They were trying to make red ones in order to plant a Texas flag with red, white and blue bluebonnets.
“They had a pink bluebonnet already and just, through cross-breeding with pollen and different plant material, it continued to get closer and closer, but maroon was as close as they could get,” Brecther said.And since the school colors are maroon and white, it actually worked out quite well.
Just a reminder . . . . here is a picture of the Classic Texas Bluebonnet. If I had known the Maroon BBs existed, you better believe we would have looked for a photo opp with them. Gig 'em!
Maroon BB article source: http://news92fm.com/427997/aggie-invasion-at-ut-maroon-bluebonnets-blooming-in-austin/.U0c6DVS5we4.facebook
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