Introduction Each of the fi fty states and the District of Columbia has a special fl ower to represent them Some grow wild while others are carefully planted and tended in public spaces and gardens Some state fl owers are blossoms of fruit trees that will drop off to make way for the fruit Others are short-lived and die quickly when picked In 1893 the World’s Fair in Chicago planned a National Garland of Flowers asking each state to contribute a symbolic fl ower In many cases schoolchildren voted for these fl owers Each of them is special and speaks to the spirit of the state that selected it
Alabama Camellia The camellia is called the rose of winter for its showy likeness to the rose It grows on a shrub in many colors and shapes The goldenrod was the state fl ower from 1927 to 1959 But women from Butler County said a weed should not be the state fl ower so they pushed the legislature to adopt camellias Since the camellia wasn’t a native plant they added the oak-leaf hydrangea as the state’s wildfl ower Scientifi c Name Camellia japonica Year Made State Flower 1959 4
Alaska Forget-me-not Alaska has long loved the wild native true blue alpine forget-me-not It is a symbol of the wild as it grows in rocky mountainous places It was adopted as the Alaska Territory fl oral emblem in 1917 The forget-me-not was important to Benny Benson an Aleut boy who won a contest for designing the Alaskan fl ag in 1927 He said that the blue background of the fl ag represented the sky and the forget-me not It was offi cially adopted as the state fl ower of Alaska in 1959 when it became part of the United States Scientifi c Name Myosotis alpestris Year Made State Flower 1959 5
