Texas comes from the word "teysha" meaning "hello friend" in the language of the Caddo Indian tribes. Spanish explorers and settlers used this word to refer to the friendly tribes throughout Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Texas, the Lone Star State, is a giant of a state. And Texans are known for their large, welcoming hearts. "Friendship" is the state's motto, and the people of Texas live by that motto.

Texas is a state of superlatives. It leads the nation in total productivity. It is the leading oil producer in the nation. More beef is produced in Texas than in any other state. It is still the nation's largest cotton producer. Texas is a giant in the space industry, and is a major player in high technology. Fittingly, Texas also boasts the largest of all the state capitol buildings, constructed of 15,000 carloads of pink granite.

And no state has a greater variety of reptiles, or a more diverse selection of flowers, than the great state of Texas. Among them the Horned Lizard (toad), the official state reptile and Bluebonnets, the official state flower.