Gig 'Em Aggies!!!
Posted on 04/14/2014 12:59:04 PM PDT by fishtank
Rumors of Aggie mischief circulate as maroon bluebonnets pop up on University of Texas campus By ANDREA SALAZAR andrea.salazar@theeagle.com | Posted 4 days ago
The land of burnt orange has received some unwanted maroon in the form of the state flower.
Maroon bluebonnets have popped up in flower beds outside the University of Texas Tower, causing enough student reaction to prompt groundskeepers to remove the seeds, said Markus Hogue, program coordinator of irrigation and water conservation at UT.
Rumor has it that an Aggie is behind it. After all, the only place on campus that has bloomed the Aggie-cultivated maroon variant of the beloved wildflower is in two flower beds outside one of the most iconic campus landmarks, Hogue said.
The university renovated the beds with bluebonnets five years ago but started noticing one or two maroon ones in the last couple years. This spring, however, there were about a dozen maroon bluebonnets in two flower beds, Hogue said.
Some of Hogue's Aggie friends have already asked for the "descendants" of the famed UT Tower maroon bluebonnets.
Although UT students want the maroon flowers gone, Hogue prefers the wildflower over other pranks, such as burning the A&M logo onto UT turf with weed and grass killer.
"This time it's a drought-tolerant plant that adds color," Hogue said. "I kind of like that. I'm a water conservationist. This is not too detrimental to the campus."
While no one has taken ownership for planting the maroon bluebonnets, "obviously someone threw some maroon seeds out there," Texas A&M professor and horticulturist Doug Welsh said.
Whoever did plant the maroon seeds "had a long, firm plan of making a statement," Welsh said. The seeds would have had to be planted as recently as last fall and as far back as a couple of years ago.
Instead of getting rid of the plants, Welsh encourages Longhorns to enjoy the maroon flower as Aggies do a field of orange Indian paintbrush at the West Campus Greenway behind the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension building.
The maroon bluebonnets won't be around for long anyway.
"The color variants other than blue are all recessive genes, so as years go by, the blue is dominant, so they'll all go back to blue," Welsh. That could happen as soon as next spring.
Aggie horticulturists spent two decades isolating pink bluebonnets from the dominant blue in an attempt at planting a Lone Star flag of flowers for the state's sesquicentennial birthday in 1986.
Their efforts have yet to yield a cherry red variant, but maroon can be spotted at the Texas A&M West Campus Greenway and the State Capitol this spring.
Another color horticulturists have yet to cultivate? Orange.
"There is no naturally recurring orange bluebonnet, so there is a possibility that Mother Nature is an Aggie," Welsh said.
Gig 'Em Aggies!!!
If this is a prank it is
a) a prank
b) a good one
All of a sudden they’ve got a problem with diversity at the university?....................
oh the horror! the humanity!
Somethong different!
ROFLLL!!!
Good one!
Pardon my ignorance, but is there some sort of rivalry between these two schools?
Cool! As long as they’re not in the shape of the a&m logo, they should send them a thank you card.
I love aggie bonnets-but about 1/2 the ones I planted out here were blooming more pink than maroon...
Like Russia and Ukraine, but not quite as civil.
Now if Texas A&M only had the foresight to get their flowers declared endangered so they could not be legally removed.
don't get my Texas kin started on Aggie jokes...take every polish joke and substitute Aggie.
This is funny. The bluebonnet is the state flower and I have always heard that it is illegal to pick them.
Another part of the story is that whoever planted them, did so all over the campus.
It was a while back, but a Congressman from Texas was on the long journey home from Washington. He stopped to visit his congressional colleague from Tennessee. The Tennessean gave him a tour of Knoxville. They went down near the river to see the creation. The Tennessean proudly exclaimed “ This is our great University, The University of Tennessee”. He went on to extol the great professors and opportunities for the bright students flocking to the campus. He called the chancellor who graciously greeted the congressman from Texas with a Tennessee orange T shirt emblazoned UT.
While traveling, the Texan thought on his visit and concluded that we need a university like that in Texas.
Alas, disaster struck. While philandering in a gambling hall under the hill in Natchez, the Congressman from the great but fledgling State of Texas was murdered. He went immediately to hell. The fires burned heatedly and though not consumed, his hair, eyebows and clothing were scorched. On presentation to the devil, the evil one saw the UT shirt and decided this must be a Holy Man and cast the Texan out. He found himself dazed but alive once more on the road back to Texas.
As soon as he got home, he called a committee to meet and they created a University, The University of Texas. To his day many Texans proudly wear T shirts of Burnt Orange bearing the logo UT.
Once again, like the Alamo and San Jacinto, Texans became indebted to Tennessee for greatness.
Just to remind Texans, all Texans of their educational Heritage
Beevo was unaivable for comment...
...Just a little.
Noooooo.......
Nah. Now Auburn and Alabama, THAT’s a rivalry.
They can’t be removed because it is the state flower!
Best prank!
Gig ‘em Aggies ‘84
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