Official State Flowers and Trees: Their Unique Stories

By Glynda Joy Nord

Official State Flowers and Trees: Their Unique Stories arranges the histories of the trees and flowers chosen by each of the states and territories of the United States into an entertaining, informative, and comprehensive guide to the honored species. Over the years, Americans have approached the choices of naming their states and territories official choices with passion. In this guide, Glynda Joy Nord explores the details of these intriguing stories and, with a plant-lovers touch, holds up each tree and flower, revealing the distinctive elements of each choice.

Dedicating a chapter to each state and territory, Official State Flowers and Trees presents the flowers and trees through detailed line drawings, followed by the unique stories that tell how people came to choose them and what physical traits they found attractive. Additional background stories delve into the poetry, mythology, history, and biology tied to each species.

You may see references to state flowers and trees on license plates, old postage stamps, state seals, and commemorative coins. You might notice the trees and flowers around you as you travel. If you then begin to wonder about the stories of those plants, then Official State Flowers and Trees: Their Unique Stories will help you satisfy your curiosity as you learn about their beauty, their histories, and the decisions that made them this countrys official symbols.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: May 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490731322

Glynda Joy Nord

Glynda Joy Nord, a retired florist, writes an online column, “Austin Flowers and Trees,” for Examiner.com. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, she lived in a variety of places in the Northeast and South. She and Richard, her husband, live in Round Rock, Texas.

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© Copyright 2014 GLYNDA JOY NORD.

Cover Design and Illustrations by: Ross Carnes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-3131-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-3133-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-3132-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014938268

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

National Flower & Tree

State Flowers & Trees

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Territorial Flowers & Trees

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

Glossary

References

Acknowledgements

Biographies

DEDICATION

To the many thousands of children who fought with their votes to select their state’s flowers and trees. And to the memory of children and teachers that have died prematurely due to unnecessary violence, and/or to catastrophic weather while attending school.

FOREWORD

I thought I knew enough about America’s trees and flowers to hold an intelligent five minute conversation with anyone—until I read this book. Not only was I was surprised that we have trees standing two-thousand years before Christ was born, but that flowers played such a crucial role in every aspect of American life, including the United States War Department. In 1926 the War Department got into battle with the Federation of Women’s Clubs over a flower.

Guess who won?

This book does not forget the children either. Over a hundred thousand school children made their voices heard in the choice of a state flower in Massachusetts. But why all the whoopla?

You will find out in this educational and entertaining book. You will learn how trees and flowers affected medicine, politics, history, even bowling alleys! You will learn about colors, shapes, heights, and myths. You name it. Every page has a surprise.

Did you know that Native Americans knew how to convert the bark of a tree into a poison that could kill a man, but also to catch fish? One state was so impressed with the tree, they named themselves after it.

Do you know the height of the tallest standing tree in America? Try looking straight up at a forty-story building! Do you know how big around that tree is, and in what state it resides? Do you know what flower President McKinley handed a young girl moments before he was shot in 1901?

I could go on and on about what’s in this book. But it will only delay the adventurous journey awaiting you. Be prepared to be educated, entertained, and enlightened!

D.C. Campbell

Blood of Belvidere and The Bianca C Still Burns

INTRODUCTION

Dear Readers,

T he history behind our nation’s selection of its flowers and trees is rich with political intrigues, legends, deception, and humor, which makes each state’s adoption a unique story.

Have you ever wondered why the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature selected the mistletoe as its floral emblem? Or why Maine chose the eastern white pine cone and tassel to represent the floral emblem, state flower, and state tree? Or what prompted Texas legislators to designate six species of bluebonnets to reign as the state flower?

This all inclusive book answers those questions and many more. Such as when, why, and what caused state officials to nominate parasites, weeds, underbrush, and succulents to hold the official title as the state floral emblem, flower, and tree.

Since the beginning of time, plants and humans have had a symbiotic relationship. Many flower and tree names go back before records were kept: when flowers were used for charms and protection; and trees provided shelter and food. Some plant names were derived from mythical gods, and Native American legends. While others were named after the environmentalist or naturalist who discovered and/or classified various species of plants.

The story of the states’ adoption of flowers and trees began, interestingly enough, at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, it honored the 400th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the New World in 1492. During this time, the fair launched a generational turning point in the American women’s movement.

Three years prior, the United States Congress authorized the appointment of the Board of Lady Managers, and also passed an act to provide financial support for women that funded the Women’s Building at the exposition. The group known as the World’s Congress of Representative Women represented women’s interests and issues at the week-long convention.

One interest promoted by the Congress of Representative Women was the National Garland of Flowers that would be comprised of a flower representative from each state and territory, which led to the creation of the National Floral Emblem Society shortly thereafter. Later the National Grove of Trees in Washington D.C. was also established.

Since then, for over a century, each state has chosen to adopt an official flower and tree as a symbol to represent its state and its people. Oddly enough, some states, in fact, for different reasons, support multiple varieties of flowers and trees. Several United State territories such as Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands has also chosen an official floral and tree representative.

Whether legislators adopted flowers and trees important to their state’s history, economy, folklore, or natives rare or common in the state, these symbols are highly honored by Americans.

But, if the legislators’ choices were simple, there would not be a need for this book. Because the stories of why they were chosen are extremely colorful and grand just like the flowers and trees themselves.

Sincerely,

Glynda Nord

NATIONAL FLOWER & TREE

Rose—Flower

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.

Abraham Lincoln

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I n 1985, the United States Senate passed a resolution requesting the president to declare the rose as the national floral emblem of the United States of America. On November 20, 1986, in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation certifying the rose as the national flower. No better words can explain the lawmakers’ choice more than the original document:

Title 36, Chapter10, S187

United States Code

Floral Emblem of the United States of AmericaProc.5574. Nov.20,1986, 51 F.R. 42197, provided:

Americans have always loved the flowers with which God decorates our land. More often than any other flower, we hold the rose dear as the symbol of life and love and devotion, of beauty and eternity. For the love of man and woman, for the love of mankind and God, for the love of country, Americans who would speak the language of the heart do so with a rose.

We see proofs of this everywhere. The study of fossils reveals that the rose has existed in America for age upon age. We have always cultivated roses in our gardens. Our first President, George Washington, bred roses, and a variety he named after his mother is still grown today. The White House itself boasts a beautiful Rose Garden. We grow roses in all our fifty States. We find roses throughout our art, music, and literature. We decorate our celebrations and parades with roses. Most of all, we present roses to those we love, and we lavish them on our altars, our civil shines, and the final resting places of our honored dead.

The American people have long held a special place in their hearts for roses. Let us continue to cherish them, to honor the love and devotion they represent, and to bestow them on all we love just as God has bestowed them on us.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 159, has designed the rose as the National Floral Emblem of the United States and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation declaring this fact.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the rose as the National Floral Emblem of the United States of America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.

Although no specific variety of rose was selected as the national flower, the American Beauty rose is recognized as the official flower of Washington D.C. This rose is a hybrid perpetual and is believed to have been introduced to the public in 1875.

The rose expresses love, hope, magic, and more than a hundred other sentiments depending on their color, size, and breed. Its scientific name rosa is Latin for red which of course refers to the flower’s color; but, as we all know, not all roses are red. Within the last several years some varieties of black roses have even been cultivated.

During the fifteenth century the rose was used as a symbol of conflict and fighting for the English crown: The white rose, Rosa alba, represented the House of York, and the red rose, Rosa gallica officinalis, a deep pink, represented the House of Lancaster. Not surprisingly, this confrontation lasted thirty years (between 1455-1485) and became known as the War of the Roses. When Henry Tudor (Henry VII) of Lancaster married Elizabeth of York this personal union ended the conflict, and a new dynasty of English aristocrats was named—the Tudors.

Lucky, Americans avoid usual conflicts!

Today the floral emblem of England is the Rose of Tudor a white rose charged upon a red rose.

Perhaps no one did more to popularize the rose at the beginning of the nineteenth century than Empress Josephine of France, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. She established a Rose Renaissance by attempting to grow every known species in her garden at Chateau de Malmaison, an estate seven miles west of Paris. By 1814, her garden contained more than two hundred fifty species of roses. In support of his wife’s hobby, Napoleon ordered his armies to bring home any new rose specimens they discovered on foreign soils.

Wow! How fortunate for her. And here I thought Napoleon was…

To learn more about roses refer to the Georgia, Iowa, New York, North Dakota, and Oklahoma chapters of this book.

Oak—Tree

Thanks to Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Senator Ben Nelsen of Nebraska, the Congressional Legislation designated the oak tree as America’s national tree in November 2004; however, the honor did not come easy.

Nearly four years earlier, the National Arbor Day Foundation hosted a four month-long casting and tallying of votes. On April 27, 2001, the results were announced at a tree planting ceremony on the Capitol Grounds in Washington D.C. John Rosenow, president of the Arbor Day Foundation, stated: The oak is a fine choice to represent all of America’s trees, and to exemplify the importance of trees in our lives. People of all ages and backgrounds responded enthusiastically to the vote, which was the first time that the entire American public has been able to state their pick for a national emblem.

There were twenty-one candidates based on broad tree categories, which included the official state trees from the fifty states. Each voter also had the option to nominate any other tree species they preferred by writing in the name.

From the first day of voting, the oak stood-out as the peoples’ choice, finishing with more 101,000 votes, compared to the first runner-up the redwood with 81,000 votes. Rounding out the top five were the dogwood, maple, and pine. Since no specific oak species was chosen, the genus Ouercus, Latin for oak tree, serves as the national tree.

The term oak is a commonly used name for almost four hundred fifty species of trees and shrubs in which ninety species are native to the United States, found in every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and Idaho.

On the day the bill passed, Congressman Goodlatte stated: As Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I appreciate how trees and forests enhance the environment, add recreational opportunities, and provide for the livelihoods of millions of individuals in the forest industry. The oak has long been an enduring and mighty tree. It is truly a part of our national heritage and merits the formal distinction of America’s National Tree. Senator Nelson said: The oak tree will be as much a symbol of America as Thanksgiving Day, Old Glory, the Star Spangled Banner, and the bald eagle. It is a fine choice to represent our nation’s strength, as it grows from just an acorn into a powerful entity whose many branches continue to strengthen and reach skyward with every passing year.

Senator Nelson was correct when he spoke about the oak tree being a symbol of the strength, but the oak is also symbolic for independence: an icon which this country was built.

Throughout the years, individual oak trees have played an important role in many historical events within America. Abraham Lincoln used the Salt River Oak as a marker in crossing a river near Homer, Illinois. Andrew Jackson also took shelter under Louisiana’s Sunnybrook Oaks on his way to the Battle of New Orleans.

The official tree symbol for Washington D.C. is the scarlet oak, a member of the Beech family and is founded throughout the eastern United States.

To learn more about oak trees refer to the Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, and New Jersey chapters of this book.

STATE FLOWERS & TREES

ALABAMA

Camellia—Flower

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T he Heart of Dixie has taken part in many conflicts. European settlers and Native Americans fought for land possession, and Union and Confederate soldiers fought over states’ rights during the War of the Northern Aggression as Southerners called it. Alabama residents have also fought amongst themselves over a state floral representative.

Before the camellia reigned as the official state flower of Alabama, the goldenrod held the prestigious honor.

In 1927, during an Alabama legislative session, State Representative T. E. Martin of Montgomery County, introduced a bill to propose the goldenrod as the state flower. According to Marie Bankhead Owen, who was the Director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, many years earlier school children had selected the goldenrod because: it blooms everywhere and brightens the fall months with its liberal plume-like flowers. The bill passed on September 6, 1927, the same day the yellowhammer became the state bird and were signed into law by Governor Bibb Graves.

The goldenrod represented Alabama for over thirty years, until the ladies of Butler County decided the goldenrod was nothing more than a weed; therefore undeserving of the role as the state’s floral symbol. The ladies thought the camellia to be more exotic and appropriate to uphold the title of state flower, even though camellias were not native to Alabama.

On August 26, 1959, Governor John M. Patterson signed House Bill No. 124 to amend Section 8, Title 55, of the Code of 1940 to read: The camellia is hereby designated and named as the state flower of Alabama. This repealed the 1927 act that had designated the honor to the goldenrod.

Since there are several varieties of camellia grown within the state, in 1998 Representative Gerald Willis introduced House Bill No. 21 to propose the red camellia to represent Alabama. The bill also recommended that Alabama should adopt a native wildflower such as the oak-leaf hydrangea. Willis’ proposal was sent to the Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Committee but no results were administered.

The following year, with the support from the Alabama Wildflower Society, Representative Willis proposed another bill to the House and, in June 1999, the Legislature named the red camellia, Camellia japonica L., as the official state flower of Alabama. And, perhaps to pacify concerned citizens about the camellia’s Asian roots, the Legislature also adopted the oak-leaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, Bartr., as the official state wildflower on the same day, signed into law by Governor Don Siegelman.

C. japonica is by far the greatest number of camellia species grown with relatively three thousand varieties, cultivars, and hybrids. The name camellia commemorates George Joseph Kamel, a Moravian botanist and Jesuit missionary who travelled to Asia and studied plants native to the Philippines. His association to the flower is hardly remembered, and he may have never seen one anyway, as botanist Carolus Linnaeus named the flower to honor Kamel (the K was changed to a C to accommodate the Latin alphabet).

Some people believe the camellia was named after the Lady of the Camellias, a famous nineteenth century French courtesan, Madeline du Plessis. She was a country girl, and aided by her beauty, went to Paris to make her fortune. She always carried a bouquet of white camellias twenty-five days of the month and red camellias the other five days, probably to signify she was indisposed. Her early death inspired the novel, Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas, her real-life lover, who published the book in 1848. Shortly afterward the story about love, social conduct, and purity of one’s heart became a successful screen play and opera.

During the late eighteenth century the camellia made its way to America and became a favorite in southern gardens. It is mainly used for borders and formation hedges. Camellia plants can produce flowers up to five inches wide, with a yellow center, and overlapping petals (the bloom duration and color depends on the species). Although the plants grow slowly, they can eventually reach up to twenty feet high. The leaves, a glossy deep