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State Flowers of the United States
by Wendy Aiton
http://www.flowerwa.com

Every state in the United States has an official state
flower, usually chosen by an act of the legislature. Many
have tales behind their choosing that read like a fine
suspense thriller.

1. One common spring flower represents four states. Can you
name the state flower of Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode
Island and Illinois?

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 shy violet, for all its unassuming ways, is a popular
favorite. Four states - Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island
and Wisconsin - have chosen the woodland flower to
represent their state. Interestingly, in three of those
states it was schoolchildren who made the final choice.

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.

Violet - and blue - are popular colors for state flowers.
The official state flowers include four that name violets,
as well as New Hampshire's purple lilac, and Tennesee's
iris.

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.

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.

While some states protect their flowers with legislation,
Minnesota goes further than most. It's illegal to pick
the showy lady's slipper, which isn't that unusual. What is
different is the fact that in 1990, the governor of
Minnesota named an 81 mile length of highway 11 a
'wildflower route', and the state's highway department
resolved to only expand the road to the south to preserve
the plants on the northern side of the road.

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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