| The Confederate
Air Force, now known as the
Commemorative Air Force, was named the official
state AIR FORCE on June 14,
1989. 
|
The Texas
toad (Bufo speciosus) was
designated the official state AMPHIBIAN
on June 19, 2009, following an intense campaign
by students from Danbury Elementary School. 
|
| The
aquarium planned by the Corpus Christi Aquarium
Association was designated the official state AQUARIUM
on June 7, 1985. The Texas State Aquarium
opened its doors to the public in 1990. 
|
As
suggested by the Texas Federation of Women's
Clubs, the mockingbird (Mimus
polygottos) was adopted as the official
state BIRD on January 31, 1927. 
|
| The
bison herd at Caprock Canyons State Park,
which is made up of direct descendants of
"original" Plains bison, became the
official state BISON HERD on
June 17, 2011. |
On
June 19, 2007, Ennis was
designated the official state BLUEBONNET
CITY, as well as the official BLUEBONNET
TRAIL. 
|
| The Chappell
Hill Bluebonnet Festival, held in April,
was designated the official state BLUEBONNET
FESTIVAL on June 19, 2007, via the same
resolution designating Ennis as the official
Bluebonnet City and Trail. |
Pan
de campo, also known as cowboy bread,
was designated the official state BREAD
on June 18, 2005. 
|
| Peach
cobbler was designated the official
state COBBLER in 2013. 
|
The cast
iron Dutch oven was designated the
official state COOKING IMPLEMENT
on June 18, 2005. 
|
| The Burton
Cotton Gin & Museum was designated
the official state COTTON GIN MUSEUM
on June 19, 2009. |
More
than 80 percent of the shrimp harvested in the
United States comes from the Gulf of Mexico, and
Texas ranks as one of the leading producers of
wild-caught shrimp. In recognition os those
facts, Texas gulf shrimp (no
specific species) was designated the official
state CRUSTACEAN in 2015. 
|
| A
sauropod called Pleurocoelus was
designated the official state DINOSAUR
in 1997. In 2007, paleontologists re-identified
the bones and footprints as Paluxysaurus
jonesi (named for the town of
Paluxy and for the Paluxy River, both of which
are near the Jones Ranch site where the fossils
of this species were discovered. The new name was
officially recognized in 2009. 
|
Chili
became the official state DISH on
May 11, 1977. 
|
| Originating
in Texas in the mid 1800's, the blue lacy
was named after the Lacy Brothers of Burnet
County (Frank, George, Edwin, and Harry Lacy),
who noted the dog to be a coyote, greyhound and
scenthound mixture, and to have a natural herding
instinct. It was designated the official state DOG
BREED on June 18, 2005. 
|
According
to research conducted in 1985 by journalist
Christopher Evans of the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, "Texas 42"
dates to 1887 and was developed by 12-year-old
William A. Thomas and 14-year-old Walter Earl in
the town of Trapp Spring (now known as Garner).
It was designated the official state DOMINO
GAME on June 11, 2011. |
| In
June of 1969, the Texas Historical Survey
Committee honored John Worth Cloud with the
official state award for "Best Historical
Publication of the Year on Local or Regional
History," in recognition of his book, The
Legend of the Old Stone Ranch. The
book was designated the official state EPIC
POEM on August 7, 1969. 
|
Cotton
is the largest cash crop in Texas, and Texas
leads the nation in cotton production. In
recognition of those facts, cotton was designated
the official state FIBER AND FABRIC
on June 18, 1997.
|
| Found
only in Texas, the Guadalupe bass
(Micropterus treculi) is native
to fast moving streams in the central Hill
Country (including the headwaters of the San
Antonio, Guadalupe, and Colorado Rivers. It was
designated the official state FISH
on May 10, 1989. 
|
The
design of the Texas State FLAG
was adopted on January 25, 1839. It features the
"Lone Star," and the red, white, and
blue represent bravery, purity, and loyalty,
respectively. 
|
| The bluebonnet
(Lupinus subcarnosus) was designated the
official state FLOWER on March
7, 1901. On March 8, 1971, the original enabling
act was amended to include L. texensis
(which is native to Texas) and "any other
variety of bluebonnet not heretofore
recorded." 
|
Bluebonnets was
designated the official state FLOWER SONG
in 1933. The song was written by Chappell Hill
residents Julia D. Booth and Lora C. Crockett,
who were unhappy with the official state song
because its lyrics include no mention of
bluebonnets. |
| The Mexican
free-tailed bat (Tadarida
brasiliensis) was designated the official
state FLYING MAMMAL on May 25,
1995. 
|
Thanks
to the efforts of Wayne and Betty Brasell of
Lubbuck, the square dance was
designated the official state FOLK DANCE
on May 30, 1991. |
| The cowboy
boot was designated the official state FOOTWEAR
on June 15, 2007, thanks to the efforts of Social
Studies teacher Kay Pechacek and her 7th grade
students at Bleyl Middle School in
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston, Texas. 
|
Around
1929 a mutation on a single grapefruit tree
became the Texas Ruby Red
variety, which received the first patent ever
awarded to a grapefruit, and which was designated
the official state FRUIT on May
17, 1993. 
|
| Texas
blue topaz, found in the Llano uplift
area in Central Texas, especially west to
northwest of Mason, was designated the official
state GEM on March 26, 1969. 
|
The Lone
Star Cut, designed by brothers Dr. Paul
W. Worden, Jr. and Gary B. Worden and so called
because it reflects the Texas "Lone
Star," was designated the official state GEMSTONE
CUT on May 25, 1977. 
|
| On
the recommendation of the Texas Council of
Chapters, the Soil Conservation Society of
America, and the Texas Section of the American
Society of Range Management, sideoats
grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
became the official state GRASS
on April 12, 1971. 
|
Texas
designated three official state HASHTAGS
in 2015: #Texas, for Texas in
general; #TexasToDo, for Texas
tourism; and #txlege, for the
Texas Legislature. |
| The cowboy
hat was designated the official state HAT
in 2015. 
|
Texas
is the largest producer of native pecans
in the United States. On June 16, 2001, the pecan
was designated the official state HEALTH
NUT.
|
| Thanks
to the efforts of 10-year-old Logan Head, the American
quarter horse was designated the
official state HORSE on February
18, 2009. 
|
Millions
of monarch butterflies (Danaus
plexippus) pass through Texas twice a year
during their migrations north and south. The
monarch was designated the official state INSECT
on June 16, 1995. 
|
| After
tabulating the votes of elementary school
children, support for the longhorn and the
armadillo was evenly divided, so the State
Legislature decided that there should be an
official state LARGE MAMMAL AND
an official small mammal. The resolution
proclaiming such was signed on June 16, 1995,
with the Texas
longhorn in the former role. 
|
Fort
Griffin Historic Site (formerly Fort
Griffin State Park), near Albany, is home to the
official state LONGHORN HERD, a
distinction it was given on May 23, 1969. |
| The
maritime museum planned by the Texas Maritime
Museum Association, Inc., for Rockport was
adopted as the official state MARITIME
MUSEUM on May 18, 1987. The museum
opened to the public on July 1, 1989.
|
"Friendship"
became the official state MOTTO
in 1930. The name "Texas" is derived
from the Caddo word "teyshas," which
means "friends" or "allies." |
| Western
swing was recognized as the official
state MUSIC on June 17, 2011,
thanks to efforts spearheaded by Paula Jungmann
of Boerne, with assistance from Dr. Gary Hartman,
director of the Music Department of Texas State
University in San Marcos. |
The guitar
was designated the official state MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT on June 19, 1997. |
| The chiltepin
(Capsicum annuum) registers 100,000 ~
265,000 in Scoville heat units making it about 20
times as hot than the jalapeņo. It was
designated the official NATIVE PEPPER
of Texas on June 18, 1997. 
|
Thanks
to the efforts of Thomas Adams, botanist and
member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Texas
purple sage (Leucophyllum frutescens)
was designated the official NATIVE SHRUB
of Texas on May 27, 2005. 
|
| Sopaipilla
was designated the official state PASTRY
on March 23, 2003. On June 22, 2003, two
amendments to the enabling resolution were
signed, one adding strudal as
another official state pastry, the other setting
January 31, 2005 as the expiration date for both
designations. 
|
As of
2000, Texas ranked first in the nation in the
production of jalapeņo peppers
(Capsicum annuum). The jalapeņo was
designated the official state PEPPER
on May 10, 1995. 
|
| Pecan
was designated the official state PIE
in 2013. 
|
The prickly
pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) was
designated the official state PLANT
on May 25, 1995. 
|
| A
resolution signed on June 6, 1979 named four
official state PLAYS. The
Lone Star, by Paul Green, was
performed at the Mary Moody Northen Amphitheater
at Galveston Island from 1977 to 1989. Texas,
also by Paul Green, has been performed annually
in Palo Duro Canyon since 1977. Beyond
the Sundown, by Kermit Hunter, was
held by the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation
from 1975 to 1983. Fandangle,
created by Robert Nail, has been performed by the
citizens of Albany every June since 1938. |
The western
honey
bee (Apis mellifera) was
designated the official state POLLINATOR
in 2015. 
|
| Silver
has been mined in Texas since the Spanish first
colonized the region. Although Texas has never
been a leader in silver production, its
importance to the state was recognized with its
designation as the official state PRECIOUS
METAL on June 15, 2003. 
|
The Texas
State Railroad went into service in 1896
and has been operating ever since. Thanks to the
Friends of the Texas State Railroad, it was
designated the official state RAILROAD
on June 22, 2003. |
| Thanks
to the efforts of 10-year old Abraham and his
younger brother Noah Holland, member of the
Horned Lizard Conservation Society, the Texas
horned lizard (Phrynosoma
cornutum) was designated the official state REPTILE
on June 18, 1993.
|
The Ghostriders,
which were formed on August 4, 2001, became the
official state RODEO DRILL TEAM
on June 15, 2007. |
| The red
drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) was
designated official state SALTWATER FISH
on June 17, 2011. 
|
The
endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle
(Lepidochelys kempii) was designated the
official state SEA TURTLE on May
10, 2013, thanks to the efforts of 4th-graders at
Oppe Elementary School in Galveston, guided by
science teacher Katie Blaser. 
|
| The
official Texas State SEAL
consists of a star of five points, encircled by
an olive and live oak branch, and the words
"State of Texas." Although it dates to
Texas' admission as a state in 1845, the design
was not codified until 1992. 
|
The lightning
whelk (Busycon perversum pulleyi)
was designated the official state SHELL on
April 14, 1987. 
|
| Commissioned
in 1914, the USS Texas,
a New York class battlsehip, served in both World
Wars before being decommissioned in 1948. Saved
from destruction by a group of Houston
businessmen, the ship was reconditioned and
placed at San Jacinto State Park in 1995, where
it remains today. It was designated the official
state SHIP on June 16, 1995.
|
Brought
to Paris in 1857 by the wife of General Sam Bell
Maxey, the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia
indica) easily adapted to the Texas
landscape. It was designated the official state SHRUB
on June 18, 1997. 
|
| The nine-banded
armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
was designated the official state SMALL
MAMMAL on June 16, 1995, as part of the
same resolution designating an official large
mammal. Although it was not specified in the
resolution, it is assumed that the nine-banded is
the specific armadillo being honored since it is
the only species native to North America. 
|
Tortilla
chips and salsa were designated the
official state SNACK on June 22,
2003, thanks to students at Leo Marcell
Elementary School in Mission. 
|
| Texas,
Our Texas, by William J. Marsh
and Gladys Yoakum Wright, was designated the
official state SONG on May 23,
1929. |
Rodeo
was designated the official state SPORT
on June 18, 1997. |
| The pumpkin
was designated the official state SQUASH
in 2013. 
|
Although
it is technically a fossil, petrified
palmwood became the official state STONE
on March 26, 1969. 
|
| On
June 18, 2005, the Elissa,
a square-rigged sailing ship built in 1877, was
designated the official state TALL SHIP.
The designation came 30 years after the badly
deteriorated and much-altered ship had been
purchased by the Galveston Historical Foundation. 
|
Designed
for the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration by
June P. Foitik McRoberts, proprietor of the
Thistles & Bluebonnets store in Salado, the bluebonnet
tartan was designated the official state
TARTAN on May 29, 1989. 
|
| The Tejano
Music Hall of Fame in Alice became the
official state TEJANO MUSIC HALL OF FAME
on May 3, 2001. |
The bolo
was designated the official state TIE
on June 15, 2007. |
| The pecan
(Carya illinoinensis) was designated the
official state TREE on May 20,
1919. 
|
The sweet
onion was designated the official state VEGETABLE
on May 7, 1997, thanks primarily to State
Representative Miguel Wise. 
|
| Thanks
to the efforts of the American Chuck Wagon
Association, the chuck wagon was
designated the official state VEHICLE
on May 27, 2005. 
|
The Nymphaea
Texas Dawn, created by Ken Landon, owner
and manager of San Angelo's International
Waterlily Collection at Civic League Park, was
designated the official state WATERLILY
on June 17, 2011. 
|
