State FlowersThe following floral pictures and historical information are a representation of every state flower. We hope you enjoy browsing the fun floral facts as much as we enjoy providing them. If you see something that you like, please feel free to visit our floral selection guide for guaranteed same day delivery of beautiful fresh flowers and hearty green and blooming plants.
Montana Wyoming
Alabama to Missouri |
Montana |
| Common Name: Bitterroot | Scientific Name: Lewisia rediviva |
Montana State Flower - Bitterroot | Long before explorers Lewis and Clark wrote about the beautiful purplish-pink flower of the bitterroot, Native Americans were using its roots for food and trade. Tribes dug up the roots and dried them so they could be kept and used for months. The root was too bitter to eat unless it was cooked, and it was usually mixed with berries or meat. An Indian story tells how the bitterroot came to be. It says the sun heard a mother crying because she couldn't find food for her family. The sun changed her tears into the bitterroot so she would always have food for her children. You can find the bitterroot growing near the mountains and boulders of western Montana in spring and summer. Mice love its leaves and seeds. |
Nebraska |
| Common Name: Goldenrod | Scientific Name: Soldiago gigantea |
Nebraska State Flower - Goldenrod | The goldenrod (Soldiago gigantea) was declared the state flower by legislative action in 1895. Numerous species of goldenrod grow throughout the state. The goldenrod is an erect, coarse-looking perennial herb that is usually about two or three feeet tall. The small flower heads, which are almost always yellow but sometimes have cream-colored or white rays, are grouped into either elongated or flattish clusters. The flowers appear from July through October. The resolution was signed into law by then-governor Silas A. Holcomb on April 4, 1985. |
Nevada |
| Common Name: Sagebrush | Scientific Name: Artemisia tridentata |
Nevada State Flower - Sagebrush | Big sagebrush is an aromatic, woody shrub, freely branched above, from 4-30 dm tall. Young stems are silvery-gray, while the older stems become grayish brown. The oldest stems have bark which is noticeably shredded. The leaves are gray, crowded and narrowly cuneate with 3 rounded teeth or lobes on the blunt tip. They are silvery green above and below and strongly scented. The leaves alternate on the stems, and they may be both deciduous and winter persistent. The flower heads are loosely spread out along the tips of the branches. The flower heads are soley discoid with 3-8 flowers per head. Big sagebrush flowers from late summer into fall. |
New Hampshire |
| Common Name: Purple lilac | Scientific Name: Syringa vulgaris |
New Hampshire State Flower - Purple lilac | The purple lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is the state flower of New Hampshire. New Hampshire historian Leon Anderson writes in To This Day that the purple lilac was first imported from England and planted at the Portsmouth home of Governor Benning Wentworth in 1750. It was adopted as our state's flower in 1919. That year bills and amendments were introduced promoting the apple blossom, purple aster, wood lily, Mayflower, goldenrod, wild pasture rose, evening primrose and buttercup as the state flower. A long and lively debate followed regarding the relative merits of each flower. The purple lilac was ultimately chosen, according to Anderson in New Hampshire's Flower -- Tree -- Bird because it "is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State." New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated (RSA) 3:5 |
New Jersey |
| Common Name: Violet | Scientific Name: Viola sororia |
New Jersey State Flower - Violet | The state flower of New Jersey was originally designated as such by a resolution of the Legislature in 1913. Unfortunately the force of resolution ended with the start of the 1914 legislative session, leaving the violet with uncertain status for the next fifty years. In 1963 an attempt was made to have the Legislature "officially" designate the violet as the state flower, but the legislation apparently failed. In 1971, at the urging of New Jersey's garden clubs, legislation more specifically designating the Common Meadow Violet (Viola sororia) as the state flower was enacted. |
New Mexico |
| Common Name: Yucca flower | Scientific Name: Yucca glauca |
New Mexico State Flower - Yucca flower | The yucca was adopted as the State Flower on March 14, 1927. The yucca is a member of the lily family and a symbol of sturdiness as well as beauty. In the early summer, pale ivory flowers bloom at the tips of its long, fibrous stalks. At the base of the plant are broad, sharpedged leaves that look like stilettos. The yucca sometimes grows to the height of a small tree. |
New York |
| Common Name: Rose | Scientific Name: Rosa |
New York State Flower - Rose | The rose, in all its variety and color, was made the State flower in 1955. Roses have been appreciated throughout the centuries and are considered one of the most popular and widely cultivated flowers in the world today, with over 150 species and more than 20,000 hybrids available. |
North Carolina |
| Common Name: American Dogwood | Scientific Name: Cornus florida |
North Carolina State Flower - American Dogwood | The Dogwood is one of the most prevalent trees in our State and can be found in all parts of the State from the mountains to the coast. Its blossoms, which appear in early spring and continue on into summer, are most often found in white, although shades of pink (red) are not uncommon. |
North Dakota |
| Common Name: Wild Prairie Rose | Scientific Name: Rosa arkansana |
North Dakota State Flower - Wild Prairie Rose | Rosa Blanda or Arkansana (44kb jpg) has been identified as Rosa Pratincula in species. The flower sports five bright pink petals with a tight cluster of yellow stamens in the center. The Wild Prairie Rose grows along roadsides, in pastures, and in native meadows. |
Ohio |
| Common Name: Scarlet Carnation | Scientific Name: Dianthus caryophyllus |
Ohio State Flower - Scarlet Carnation | Although the fruit of the buckeye tree has symbolized Ohio since the mid-1800s, it wasn't until 1904 that the scarlet carnation was chosen as our official state flower. This flower was a favorite of William McKinley and was adopted by the state legislature partly because it represented a token of love and reverence for the Ohio president. When Legislator Elijah W. Hill introduced the adoption resolution on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives, he said, in part: "England has the rose, France has the lily; Ireland, the shamrock; Scotland, the thistle. These flowers awaken in the hearts of the natives of these countries memories of home, fireside, childhood days, sweet sorrows, family ties, and incidents of the land of their nativity. To these ends we seek to adopt the scarlet carnation as Ohio's floral emblem." |
Oklahoma |
| Common Name: Mistletoe | Scientific Name: Phoradendron serotinum |
Oklahoma State Flower - Mistletoe | Mistletoe phoradendron serotinum the oldest of Oklahoma's symbols, adopted in 1893 -- 14 years before statehood. Mistletoe grows on trees throughout the state and is particularly bountiful in the southern regions of Oklahoma. The dark green leaves and white berries show up brightly during the fall and winter in trees that have shed their own leaves. |
Oregon |
| Common Name: Oregon Grape | Scientific Name: Berberis aquifolium |
Oregon State Flower - Oregon Grape | A low growing plant, the Oregon Grape is native to much of the Pacific Coast and found sparsely east of the Cascades. Its year-round foliage of pinnated, waxy green leaves resembles holly. The plant bears dainty yellow flowers in early summer and a dark blue berry that ripens late in the fall. The fruit can be used in cooking. |
Pennsylvania |
| Common Name: Mountain Laurel | Scientific Name: Kalmia latiflolia |
Pennsylvania State Flower - Mountain Laurel | The State Flower is the Mountain Laurel, as enacted by the General Assembly on May 5, 1933. The mountain laurel is in full bloom in mid-June, when Pennsylvania's woodlands are filled with its distinctive pink flower. |
Rhode Island |
| Common Name: Commom Blue Violet | Scientific Name: Viola sororia |
Rhode Island State Flower - Commom Blue Violet | Habitat: woods, limy areas Height: 4-6 inches Flower size: 3/4 inch Flower color: purple Flowering time: April to May |
South Carolina |
| Common Name: Yellow Jessamine | Scientific Name: Gelsemium sempervirens |
South Carolina State Flower - Yellow Jessamine | Officially adopted by the General Assembly on February 1, 1924, for the following reasons: it is indigenous to every nook and corner of the State; it is the first premonitor of coming Spring; its fragrance greets us first in the woodland and its delicate flower suggests the pureness of gold; its perpetual return out of the dead Winter suggests the lesson of constancy in, loyalty to and patriotism in the service of the State. "No flower that blooms holds such perfume, As kindness and sympathy won. Wherever there grows the sheltering pine Is clinging a Yellow Jessamine vine." From "Legend of the Yellow Jessamine," by Mrs. Teresa Strickland of Anderson, South Carolina, when the flower was made the emblem of Dixie Chapter, U.D.C., about 1906. The "Carolina or Yellow Jessamine" is defined by the New International Encyclopedia as "A climbing plant which grows upon trees and fences and bears a profusion of yellow, funnel-shaped flowers an inch in diameter, with a fragrance similar to that of the true Jasmine." Its odor on a damp evening or morning fills the atmosphere with a rare and delicate sweetness. |
South Dakota |
| Common Name: Pasque Flower | Scientific Name: Ppulsatilla hirsutissima |
South Dakota State Flower - Pasque Flower | The pasque is the state flower. It is also called the May Day flower. It grows wild throughout the state, and its blooming is one of the first signs of spring in South Dakota. A member of the buttercup family, the pasque is a small, lavender flower. |
Tennessee |
| Common Name: Iris | Scientific Name: Iridaceae |
Tennessee State Flower - Iris | The iris (Genus Iridaceae) was designated as the state cultivated flower by the Legislature in 1933. While there are several different colors among the iris, the purple iris is commonly accepted as the state flower. |
Texas |
| Common Name: Bluebonnet | Scientific Name: Lupinus |
Texas State Flower - Bluebonnet | Named for its color and, it is said, the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet, the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides throughout central and south Texas. Scientifically named Lupinus texensis, the bluebonnet is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo. It was adopted as the official state flower by the Texas Legislature in 1901. |
Utah |
| Common Name: Sego lily | Scientific Name: Calochortus gunnisonii |
Utah State Flower - Sego lily | By an act of the Utah State Legislature, approved on March 18, 1911, the sego lily was declared to be the State floral emblem (Utah Code). Kate C. Snow, President of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, in a letter dated April 17, 1930, says that "between 1840 and 1851" food became very scarce in Utah due to a crop-devouring plague of crickets, and that "the families were put on rations, and during this time they learned to dig for and to eat the soft, bulbous root of the sego lily. The memory of this use, quite as much as the natural beauty of the flower, caused it to be selected in after years by the Legislature as the floral emblem of the State." The sego lily was made the official state flower after a census was taken of the state's school children as to their preference for a state flower. The sego lily, Calochortus nuttalli, has white, lilac, or yellow flowers and grows six to eight inches high on open grass and sage rangelands in the Great Basin during the summer months. |
Vermont |
| Common Name: Red Clover | Scientific Name: Trifolium pratense |
Vermont State Flower - Red Clover | No. 159 of the Acts of 1894, effective February 1, 1895, designated the Red Clover as the official State Flower. Both an integral part of many a cultivated hay field and a common sight along numerous Vermont roadsides, the Red Clover is symbolic of Vermont's scenic countryside generally and of its dairy farms in particular. Oddly enough, however, Trifolium pratense is not a native of Vermont but was "naturalized" from Europe. |
Virginia |
| Common Name: American Dogwood | Scientific Name: Cornus florida |
Virginia State Flower - American Dogwood | In 1918, the state floral emblem commonly known as the American dogwood (Cornus florida) was adopted. It was selected to foster a feeling of pride in our state and to stimulate an interest in the history and traditions of the Commonwealth. |
Washington |
| Common Name: Coast Rhododendron | Scientific Name: Rhododendron macrophyllum |
Washington State Flower - Coast Rhododendron | In 1892, before they had the right to vote, Washington women selected the coast rhododendron as the state flower. They wanted an official flower to enter in a floral exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Six flowers were considered, but the final decision was narrowed to clover and the "rhodie," and voting booths were set up for ladies throughout the state. When the ballots were counted, the rhododendron had been chosen as the Washington state flower. |
West Virginia |
| Common Name: Rhododendron | Scientific Name: Rhododendron maximum |
West Virginia State Flower - Rhododendron | The Rhododendron maximum, or great laurel, is the state flower of West Virginia. It was selected on January 29, 1903, by the Legislature, following a vote by pupils of the public schools. It is a shrub of the heath family and may be recognized by its large, dark evergreen leaves and delicate pale pink or white bloom, mottled with either red or yellow flecks. |
Wisconsin |
| Common Name: Wood Violet | Scientific Name: Viola papilionacea |
Wisconsin State Flower - Wood Violet | State flowers were first nominated in 1908. When the official tally was taken on Arbor Day 1909, school children selected the wood violet (Viola papilionacea) over the wild rose, trailing arbutus, and the white water lily. It was a close vote. The wood violet is a small flower commonly seen in wet woodland and meadow areas, and along roadsides. This purple violet is very popular in the eastern United States and blooms between March and June. Not only is it the state flower for Wisconsin, but it also holds this title in Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Believe it or not, the leaves are very tasty and can be used in salads, candies, and jellies. |
Wyoming |
| Common Name: Indian Paintbrush | Scientific Name: Castilleja linariaefolia |
Wyoming State Flower - Indian Paintbrush | Indian Paintbrush or Painted Cup (Castilleja linariaefolia) was adopted as the State Flower on January 31, 1917. The roots of the painted cups are partially parasitic on the roots of other green plants. Their true flowers are inconspicuous, but are commonly enveloped by bright red flowerlike bracts. |
