Texans hoping to see some of the state’s springtime colors have a new tool at their disposal — a map created by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) showing the location of wildflowers.
The map was released last week, a few days before Earth Day on Wednesday, as a new layer to TxDOT’s statewide planning map. According to the transportation agency, the new layer incorporates data from iNaturalist, a worldwide database of plant sightings submitted by users. The layer provides details on where Texas wildflowers like prairie verbenas, Texas paintbrushes and bluebonnets can likely be found.
Tom Neville, a TxDOT GIS analyst who helped design the wildflower layer, said in a statement the map’s new feature was designed to be a balance between technical precision and statewide usability.
“Using that data, we were able to map wildflower sightings across Texas dating back more than a decade,” Neville said. “The dataset was eventually refined, and a heat map was created to show concentrations of wildflower activity across the state.”
Leslie Ralston is another TxDOT GIS analyst. She said the map also includes the location of a dozen wildflower festivals across the state.
“These festival locations were incorporated into the map as interactive points with pop-ups that include event details and links to photos,” Ralston said in a statement. “Each festival is represented with its own icon on the map.”
While the new wildflower layer has been out only for a few days, TxDOT’s statewide planning map has been around for 20 years. The map’s main purpose is to present roadway planning data, including congested roadways, toll road locations, FEMA floodplains and more.
The wildflower layer is just one of the map’s new and less planning-focused additions to celebrate the map’s 20th anniversary. In November, TxDOT released a Top 50 BBQ Joints layer, based on the annual Texas Monthly report of the same name.
According to TxDOT, these new layers are meant to “underscore the agency’s effort to blend functionality with cultural and recreational interest.”
TxDOT also has a long history with the state’s wildflowers, particularly the bluebonnet, which is the official state flower.
Every year for the past several decades, TxDOT has spent tens of thousands of dollars annually to plant nearly 30,000 pounds of bluebonnets and other wildflowers along Texas roadways.