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Which Flower Represents Your State?
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.

Some states chose flowers that are the only natural choice.
What flower could better represent Massachusetts, home of
the Pilgrims, than the mayflower? And yet, the
Massachusetts state legistlature, meeting in 1918, were
hesitant. The bill to name the mayflower as the state
flower was followed quickly by another to recognize the
water lily instead. Other bills followed, and in the end,
the legislature handed the decision to the state Deparment
of Agriculture, who handed it to the Department of
Education, who passed it on to the schoolchildren of the
Commonwealth. The children voted two-to-one to adopt the
mayflower, and it was named officially on May 1, 1918.

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.

The violet isn't the only flower that has been chosen by
more than one state. The dainty apple blossom is the state
flower of both Arkansas and Michigan. It's one of four
fruit blossoms to be named official state flower. The
others are the peach blossom, official state flower of
Delawae, the orange blossom, the state flower of Florida,
and the Oregon grape, which represents Oregon.

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.

Indiana's fickle state legislature adopted no less than
four official flowers over the years. Originally, the
lawmakers chose the carnation as the state's flower, but
changed that in 1931, when they chose the zinnia to
represent their state. In 1957, they again changed their
minds and voted to recognize the dogwood blossom. On March
13, 1957, the legislature voted to name the peony as
Indiana's state flower - for now.

7. Speaking of plants that aren't technically 'flowers',
can you name two cacti that are currently state flowers
and the states they represent?

Other interesting state flower facts include: two states
are represented by plants that aren't technically flowers,
Maine, with the White Pine Tassel, and Oklahoma's
mistletoe. Two states are represented by cacti - Arizona's
Saguaro cactus and New Mexico's yucca flower. Only one
state's flower bears the state name - the California poppy.

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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