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Texas State Symbols

Welcome to the Lone Star State! Texas has more official state symbols than any other state. That isn’t terribly surprising considering that Texas is the second biggest state and is also very diverse. Still, we’re talking about nearly 80 symbols, including 14 plant symbols and 14 animal symbols. Yikes! (Continued below)

Texas state flag Texas state seal
Nicknames & Slogans
Nicknames The Lone Star State 2015
Symbols of State
Motto Friendship 1930
Song Texas, Our Texas 1929
EcoSymbols
Flower bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) 1971
Waterlily Texas Dawn (Nymphaea) 2011
Tree pecan (Carya illinoinensis) 1919
Health Nut Pecan Home Fruit Production, Pecans (Carya illinoinensis) 2001
Grass sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) 1971
Fruit Texas red grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) 1993
Pepper jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum) 1995
Native Pepper chiltepin (Capsicum annuum) 1997
Vegetable sweet onion (Allium cepa) 1997
Squash pumpkin (Cucurbita) 2013
Plant prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) 1995
Shrub crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) 1997
Native Shrub Texas purple sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) 2005
Fiber and Fabric cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) 1997
Bird mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1927
Large Mammal longhorn (Bos taurus) 1995
Small Mammal nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) 1995
Flying Mammal Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) 1995
Dog Blue Lacy (Canis lupus familiaris) 2005
Horse American quarter horse (Equus caballus) 2009
Reptile Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) 1993
Sea Turtle Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) 2013
Amphibian Texas toad (Bufo speciosus) 2009
Fish Guadalupe bass (Micropterus treculii) 1989
Saltwater Fish red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) 2011
Saltwater Fish (former) tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) 2009
Insect monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) 1995
Pollinator western honey bee (Apis mellifera) 2015
Crustacean Texas Gulf shrimp (Penaeus spp.) 2015
Shell lightning whelk (Busycon perversum) 1987
Mushroom star mushroom (Chorioactis geaster) 2021
Gem Texas blue topaz 1969
Precious Metal silver 2007
Dinosaur † Paluxysaurus jonesi 1997
Stone petrified palmwood 1969
Soil Houston Black (unofficial) Unofficial
Cultural Symbols
Dish chili 1977
Bread pan de campo (cowboy bread) 2005
Traditional Pastries (former) sopaipilla and strudel 2003
Pie pecan pie 2013
Cobbler peach cobbler 2013
Snack tortilla chips and salsa 2003
Cooking Implement Dutch oven 2005
Hat cowboy hat 2015
Footwear cowboy boot 2007
Tie bolo tie 2007
Tartan Texas Bluebonnet 1989
Sport rodeo 1997
Rodeo Drill Team Ghostriders 2007
10K Race Event Texas Round-Up 10k 2005
Hero Carl Lewis 1985
Domino Game 42 2011
Vehicle chuckwagon 2005
Railroad Texas State Railroad 2003
Tall Ship Elissa 2005
Maritime Museum Texas Maritime Museum 1987
Aquarium Texas State Aquarium (Corpus Christi) 1985
Cotton Gin Museum Burton Cotton Gin & Museum, Burton 2009
Hashtag of the State of Texas #Texas 2015
Hashtag of the Texas Legislature #texleg 2015
Hashtag of Texas Tourism #TexasToDo 2015
Bison Herd Texas bison herd at Caprock State Park 2011
Longhorn Herd Foundation herd of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 1969
Butterfly Capital Capital Jasper 2015
Bluebonnet City Ennis 1997
Bluebonnet Festival The Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival 1997
Bluebonnet Trail Ennis (Festival) 1991
Gemstone Cut Lonestar Cut 1977
Flower Song Bluebonnets 1933
Music western swing 2011
Musical Instrument guitar 1997
Musician 2003
Tejano Music Hall of Fame Tejano Music Hall of Fame Museum, Alice 2001
Folk Dance square dance Redundant Symbol 1991
Plays The Lone Star, Texas, Beyond Sundown and Fandangle 1979
Epic Poem The Legend of Old Stone Ranch 1969
Caricature Artist Kid Cardona 1997
Artist (Two-Dimensional) 2003
Artist (Three-Dimensional) 2003
Ship U.S.S. Texas 1995
Air Force Confederate Air Force 1989
Flag Pledge 1933
Handgun Colt Walker 2021
Capital (Texas Capitals) ˆ
Designation Place Year
Plants
Wildflower Capital of Texas Temple 1989
Wildflower Capital of Texas DeWitt County 1999
Bluebonnet Co-capital of Texas Burnet County 1981
Bluebonnet Co-capital of Texas Llano County 1981
Sunflower Capital of Texas Hearne 1997
Daffodil Capital of Texas Round Rock 2003
Red Poppy Capital of Texas Georgetown 1990
Redbud Capital of Texas Denton 1993
Peach Capital of Texas Parker County 1991
Citrus Capital of Texas Weslaco 1997
Grape Capital of Texas Terry County 2015
Strawberry Capital of Texas Poteet 2015
Seedless Watermelon Capital of Texas Knox City 1997
Pumpkin Capital of Texas Floydada 2013
Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas Waxahachie 1997
Crape Myrtle City Paris 1997
Crape Myrtle County Capital Lamar County 1997
Cactus Capital of Texas Sanderson 1999
Garden Capital of Texas Nacogdoches 2013
Fungi
Mushroom Capital of Texas Madisonville 2005
Animals
Birding Capital of East Texas Mineola 2003
Purple Martin Capital of Texas Longview 1991
Purple Martin Conservation Capital of Texas Grand Prairie 2013
Bluebird Capital of Texas Wills Point 1995
Eagle Capital of Texas Rains County 1995
Ostrich Capital of Texas Midland 1991
Bison Capital of Texas Quitaque 2015
Jackrabbit-Roping Capital of Texas Odessa 2001
Hippo Capital of Texas Hutto 2003
Alligator Capital of Texas Anahuac 1989
Texas Horned Lizard Capital of the World Kenedy 2001
Horned Lizard Capital of Texas Kenedy 2001
Catfish Capital of Texas West Tawakoni 2001
Butterfly Capital of Texas Jasper 2015
Crawfish Capital of Texas Mauriceville 1983
Dinosaur Capital of Texas Glen Rose 1997
Sports and Games
Hot Air Balloon Capital of Texas Plano 1999
Balloon Race Capital of Texas Gregg County 2013
Bicycling Capital of the Rio Grande Valley Brownsville 2015
Walking Capital of Texas Canton 2013
Rodeo Capital of Texas Mesquite 1993
Chess Capital of Texas Brownsville 2003
Food
Barbecue Capital of Texas Lockhart 1999
Cheeseburger Capital of Texas Friona 2007
Kolache Capital of Texas Caldwell 1989
Home of the Official Kolache of the Texas Legislature West 1997
Pancake Capital of Texas Hawkins 1995
Pickle Capital of Texas Mansfield 2013
Sausage Capital of Texas Elgin 1995
Bed and Breakfast Capital of Texas Jefferson 1997
Ethnic Capitals
Irish Capital of Texas Dublin 2005
Czech Heritage Capital of Texas West 1997
Danish Capital of Texas Danevang 1990
Norwegian Capital of Texas Clifton 1997
Cowboys
Vaquero Capital of Texas Jim Hogg County 2015
Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas Garland 2013
Spur Capital of Texas Gatesville 2001
Stagecoach Capital of Texas Bridgeport 2009
The Arts
Mural Capital of Texas Breckenridge 2001
Sculpture Capital of Texas Jewett 2013
Blues Capital of Texas Navasota 2005
Polka Capital of Texas Fredericksburg 1993
Storybook Capital of Texas Abilene 2015
Storyfest Capital of Texas George West 1995
Miscellaneous
Antique Capital of Texas Baird 1993
Bois d’Arc Capital of Texas Commerce 1999
Classic Car Capital of Texas Nocona 2015
Depot Capital of Texas Giddings 2011
Getaway Capital of Texas Lake Whitney area 2005*
International Business Capital of North Texas Richardson 2011
Outdoor Capital of Texas Buda 2005
Pump Jack Capital of Texas Electra 2001
Stars, Texas City of Kilgore 2003
Volunteer Capital of Texas Comal County 1997
Wedding Capital of Texas Dripping Springs 2015
Wind Energy Capital of Texas McCamey 2001
Wine Root Stock Capital of the World Denison 1989
* Designated in 2005 and redesignated in 2011

Amazingly, Texans did a surprisingly good job of choosing their symbols, many of which are unique to Texas. Despite Texas’ reputation as a haven for bombastic right-wingers, Texans didn’t follow Tennessee into the gutter. Although Texans recently adopted an official handgun, they snubbed efforts to adopt an official Bowie knife and cannon.

Some of Texas’ most iconic state symbols include the bluebonnet, longhorn, nine-banded armadillo, Texas horned lizard, and chili. We might also include a number of symbols associated with cowboys, from the cowboy hat to rodeo.

However, the king of Texas symbols is that legendary Lone Star flag, which proudly broadcasts the message “Don’t mess with Texas.”

* * * * *

If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.

You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)

After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.

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