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State Flowers of the United States
by Wendy Aiton
http://www.flowerwa.com
What do the Wisconsin, Illinois, Rhode Island and New
Jersey have in common? Aside from all being states in the
United States of America, they share another distinction -
that of having named the violet as their state flower.
Every one of the fifty states has chosen by legislation or
by tradition, a flower to represent their state. The violet
is the most popular flower, but it's not the only flower
that's been chosen by more than one state. Both Michigan
and Arkansas are represented by the apple blossom; the
goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky and Nebraska; and
the wild prairie rose is the state flower of both Iowa and
North Dakota.
2. Many states have chosen flowers that are native to their
state, but only two state flowers bear the state name.
Which state are the only two whose flowers bears its name?
The rhododendron is also the state flower of West Virginia,
but in this case, it's the rhododendron maximum, or great
laurel. It, too was chosen by a popular vote - one that
counted votes by schoolchildren across the state.
Schoolchildren were responsible for the designation of
close to half the state flowers in the United States. Among
those states are Massachusetts, whose state flower was
chosen by the vote of schoolchildren in the state after the
state legislature passed the choice off to the state Board
of Education. Their choice? The mayflower, named by the
pilgrims, the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony.
Most states have chosen flowers that are native growers.
Hawaii's state flower, for instance, is the yellow
hibiscus. Hawaii shares a trait with many other states -
the yellow hibiscus was not the legislature's original
choice. Until 1988, the official state flower was just the
hibiscus, and many older sources show a red hibiscus.
Of the other states that have changed their official flower
the record holder has got to be Indiana. The legislators of
the Hoosier state chose no less than four different flowers
to represent their state. Originally, the carnation was the
state flower of Indiana. In 1931, the state legislature
chose to recognize the zinnia instead. That lasted nearly
a quarter of a century. In 1957, the legislators changed
the state flower twice - first to the dogwood blossom, and
finally, to the flowers that represent the state to this
day - the peony.
Yellow flowers also take their place among the state
flowers. Hawaii's state flower is specifically the yellow
hibiscus, the sunflower represents Kansas. Both Nebraska
and Kentucky choose the goldenrod, once also the state
blossom of Mississippi. State legislators replaced it with
the far more Southern magnolia to escape the goldenrod's
mistaken reputation for causing allergies.
8. Some states specifically named only one phylum or
color of flower to be their official state representative.
What color is the state flower of Hawaii?
The entire list of state flowers, along with full color
pictures and interesting facts can be found at
www.50states.com
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