Bluebonnets have been an official part of Texas culture and lore for several hundred years. There are many stories that claim to tell the real story of just how the bluebonnet became the cultural symbol of Texas. Here are two of the most popular:
• Spanish nun Maria de Jesus de Agrada, a missionary working in New Mexico in the mid-1700s, wore a blue cloak over her nun’s habit while she made her rounds. Members of the Jumano tribe in Texas said that she mysteriously appeared to them in Texas and taught them about Christianity. They dubbed her “The Lady in Blue”, and said that on the last morning that she appeared to them, their fields were suddenly filled with deep blue flowers that were the exact same color as her cloak. And thus, the first legend of the Texas bluebonnet was born.
• The Comanche tribe’s bluebonnet legend involves the group deciding to sacrifice their most beloved items after a particularly harsh winter. They made a bonfire, and one little girl threw her favorite cornhusk doll outfitted with a blue feather onto the flames. The fields were covered in blue flowers the next morning.