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Pennsylvania State Flower

Pennsylvania State Flower: Mountain Laurel

Adoption of the Pennsylvania State Flower

In 1927, a body of support, initiated at Pennsylvania State College, developed to encourage the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adopt the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) and the flower of the tulip tree as Pennsylvania's official state tree and flower respectively. The prepared arguments read:

WHEREAS, The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) of the Magnolia Family is a native tree of Pennsylvania and found throughout the State as a forest and cultivated shade tree, and

WHEREAS, It is an important timber tree of the State, its wood being used in cabinet work, interior finish, boat building, wooden pumps, wooden bowls, and as a substitute for Cuban Cedar in the manufacture of cigar boxes, and

WHEREAS, Its beautiful tulip-like flowers, buds, leaves and fruits are easily conventionalized for artistic use and suitable for decorative purposes, and

WHEREAS, The leaf resembles a keystone in shape and is, therefore, a fitting emblem and symbol for the Keystone State, the arch in the thirteen original colonies, and

WHEREAS, It is found in full bloom the latter part of May when we wish to commemorate with floral emblems the brave deeds of our soldiers of the Civil, Spanish-American, and Great World Wars, and

WHEREAS, It has been selected by an overwhelming plurality vote of approximately forty societies in the State, that are interested in securing a flower to represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

THEREFORE, Be it recommended that the flower of the tulip tree and the tree (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) be adopted by choice as the State flower and State tree of Pennsylvania, and that the citizens of the State and the children of the public schools be instructed to call the flower of the tulip tree the State flower and the tree the State tree of Pennsylvania, and that they shall be taught the identifying characters of the tree and flower and the correct methods of planting and caring for the same in private and public grounds and along our highways.

The legislation was considered at length in the halls of the state capital in Harrisburg but in the end, no action was taken. When the General Assembly adjourned, Pennsylvania was still without a state tree or a state flower.

Several years later, in 1931, a movement to adopt a state tree gained enough momentum to officially name the eastern hemlock (Tsunga canadensis L.) as the state tree of Pennsylvania. Still, the commonwealth was left without a state flower.

Eager to adopt an official state flower, many Pennsylvanians began to line up in support of the pink azalea or the mountain laurel. Supporters of both flowers were vocal and adamant. In fact, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, unable to reach agreement decided to defer to the Governor of the state. The House approved two bills, one supporting the honeysuckle and the other in support of the mountain laurel. Both were forwarded to the Senate where, again, two bills and two state flowers were approved. The adopted bills were then forwarded to the Governor for his signature.

Governor Gifford Pinchot, often referred to as our nation's first professionally trained forester, was no stranger to these beautiful flowers and may have been a little irritated when put in the position to decide the matter for the Pennsylvania Legislature.

The story goes that Governor Pinchot preferred the pink azalea, but that he left it to his wife to make the decision. Undoubtedly, she had at least a little influence on the Governor, for on May 5, 1933, Governor Gifford Pinchot signed legislation making the mountain laurel the official State flower of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Statutes

The following information is excerpted from Thomas E. Martin, Jr., Esq.'s Unconsolidated Pennsylvania Statutes, Title 71.

State Government (Title 71)
Part I. The Administrative Codes and Related Provisions.
Chapter 6. Provisions similar or Closely Related to Provisions of the Administrative Codes.
SECTION 1006.

§ 1006. State flower.

The mountain laurel (Kalmia Latifolia) is hereby adopted as the State flower of Pennsylvania.

Additional Information

Pennsylvania State Flower: Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel, Pennsylvania's State Flower: All about the Mountain Laurel from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel): Plant Encyclopedia from MyGardenGuide.

Kalmia latifolia: University of Connecticut Plant Database of Trees, Shrubs and Vines.

Mountain Laurel (Ericaceae Kalmia latifolia L.): Tree Identification Fact Sheet from the Virginia Tech.

Plant Profile for Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel): USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

State Flower List: List of all of the state flowers.

Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival: About the Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival held in June, in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

State Birds & Flowers 1000-pc Puzzle: Created at the request of The National Wildlife Federation this design is a beautiful and informative puzzle featuring every state bird perched on the appropriate state flower.

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book by Annika Bernhard - 51 accurately detailed, copyright-free renderings include national bird (eagle) and flower (rose) plus 50 state birds and flowers.

U. S. State Flowers in Cross Stitch by Gerda Bengtsson - Botanically correct cross stitch designs of state flowers of the 50 States.

Quilting Flowers of the States by Sue Harvey - A lovely 12-inch flower block for each of the 50 states. Techniques used are piecing, appliqu?, paper-piecing and three-dimensional techniques.

Plants, Seeds & Flowers: Bulbs, seeds, plants, fertilizer, plant containers and more.

Gardening Tools: Pruners, rakes, shovels, hoes, trowels, cultivators and tillers, greenhouses, yard carts and more.

State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide, Third Edition - Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Greenwood Press, 2002

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols: A Study based on historical documents giving the origin and significance of the state names, nicknames, mottoes, seals, flowers, birds, songs, and descriptive comments on the capitol buildings and on some of the leading state histories, Revised Edition - George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., The H.W. Wilson Company, 1938 (Reprint Services Corp. 1971)

Source: Unconsolidated Pennsylvania Statues: Thomas E. Martin Jr., Esq., (http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/Index.html), August 31, 2005
Source: State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide, Third Edition - Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Greenwood Press, 2002
Source: State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols: Revised Edition (Reprint)- George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., The H.W. Wilson Company, 1938

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