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Texas has a variety of official state symbols, which are established by law or by a resolution of the Texas Legislature. The state symbols include:
- State coat of arms: a 5-pointed white star, on an azure background, encircled by olive and live oak branches
- State bird: the northern mockingbird
- State flower: the bluebonnet
- State tree: the pecan tree
- State dog breed: the Blue Lacy.
- State insect: monarch butterfly
Texas also has an official state motto, official state song, and several “official plays,” though some of the latter have ceased to be performed.
Texas State Tree
The Texas state tree is the pecan tree, which is native to Texas and northern Mexico. It grows both in the wild and in orchards where pecan nuts are cultivated.
Texas produces more pecans than any other state except Georgia and New Mexico.
Texans traditionally have used pecan nuts in pecan pie, German chocolate cake, in cobblers, cookies, and soups, as well as eating them raw or roasted.
Texas State Flower
The Texas state flower is the bluebonnet, which blooms in late March through mid to late April. “Bluebonnet” is the common name for a few species of lupines (Lupinus texensis, Lupinus subcarnosus, Lupinus havardii, etc.), all of which are recognized as the state flower.
Texas State Bird
The Texas state bird is the Northern mockingbird (Mimus Polyglottos), which resides in Texas year-round rather than migrating. Mockingbirds are so-called because they can mimic the song of other birds.
Mockingbirds are territorial. When the Texas Legislature adopted the mockingbird as the state bird in 1927, it called the bird “a fighter for protection of his home,” willing to sacrifice itself, if need be, “like any true Texan.”
Lone Star Flag
The Lone Star Flag serves as the official state flag of Texas. It has a single, prominent white star and uses the same red, white, and blue colors as the United States flag.
The flag dates to the 1830s, though it is unclear where exactly it first originated.
Texas State Motto
The state motto of Texas is “Friendship.” The motto comes from the Native American Caddo language. In Caddo, the word taysha meant “friend” or “ally.” It was adapted into Spanish as “Tejas” to describe the Caddo territory, before being Anglicized as “Texas.”
Texas State Mammal
In 1995, Texans couldn’t decide on whether to make the Long Horn or the Armadillo the official state mammal. After a vote by elementary school children, the Legislature passed a resolution that proclaimed the Longhorn to be the “official Large State Mammal of Texas” and the armadillo “the official Small State Mammal of Texas.”
The state maintains an official Long Horn herd that grazes at several state parks and historical sites throughout the state .
Official Dish
The official state dish is Texas chili, also called chili con carne. The dish is a spicy stew containing meat (usually beef), chili peppers, tomatoes, and sometimes beans. Texans disagree about whether ‘true’ Texas chili should contain beans.
Ben Z. Grant, the state representative who authored the resolution that made chili the official state dish, wrote later that chili advocates in the Texas House won only a “narrow victory over barbecue” when adopting the resolution.
State Sport
The official Texas state sport is rodeo. “No event captures the unique spirit of the Lone Star State better than rodeo,” says the legislative resolution that made the designation official in 1997.
“From the earliest days of the sport, Texas played a key role in the development of the modern rodeo; the world’s first recorded rodeo was held in Pecos in 1883, and Fort Worth staged the first indoor rodeo in 1917.”
The resolution paid homage to the legendary African American cowboy Bill Pickett and female rodeo champion Barber Inez “Tad” Lucas, both Texans.
State Play
The official state plays of Texas are “The Lone Star,” presented in Galveston Island State Park; “Texas,” presented in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park; “Beyond the Sundown,” presented at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation; and “Fandangle,” presented in Shackelford County.
State Song
The state song of Texas is “Texas, Our Texas” by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright. The lyrics are as follows:
Texas, Our Texas! All hail the mighty State!
Texas, Our Texas! So wonderful so great!
boldest and grandest, withstanding ev’ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,
Emblem of Freedom! it sets our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
Texas, dear Texas! From tyrant grip now free,
Shine forth in splendor your star of destiny
Mother of heroes, we come your children true.
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
Full List of State Symbols
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission maintains a list of all the official designations, as well as the year of designation. These include the “official pie,” “official pastries,” “official reptile,” etc.
