UT's invading blooms might just be a maroon mix-up

Maroon bluebonnet watch, Day 13: The invading floral horde might have been less of a Trojan horse and more of a cuckoo coincidence.

As soon as maroon bluebonnets were spotted in the flowerbeds in front of the University of Texas Tower emerged, theories of a Texas A&M prank began to circulate in news reports and on social media. First, plans were announced to uproot the flowers; then UT officials released a statement pledging to preserve the offensively colored plants. Now, the Daily Texan reports that the errant flora was likely the result of a simple packaging mix-up.

According to the Texan, UT service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega planted the bluebonnets around campus and purchased the (presumed blue-blooming) seeds at Barton Springs Nursery. Jerry Parsons, a former Texas A&M horticulturist who helped develop the maroon bluebonnet, said a seed mix-up during the pacakaging process, which is common in mass production, was a more likely explanation for the flowers than any sort of Aggie prank, the student newspaper reports.

Perhaps this ends the mystery once and for all. (Unless, of course, it's just a maroon herring.)

http://www.statesman.com/weblogs/bevo-beat/2014/apr/23/uts-invading-blooms-might-just-be-maroon-mix-/

Related thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107817159