Official State Beautification and Conservation Plant of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Penngift Crownvetch Coronilla varia Adopted: June 17, 1982

Official state beautification and conservation plant
Photo by Elaine Hauge, courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
Used with permission.

Pennsylvania Law

The following information was excerpted from the The Pennsylvania Statutes, Title 71, Chapter 6, Section 1010.2.0353.

Title 71 P.S. State Government
I. The Administrative Codes and Related Provisions
Chapter 6. Provisions Similar or Closely Related to Provisions of the Administrative Code
Secretary and Department of Internal Affairs
State Emblems

§ 1010.2. State beautification and conservation plant

Penngift Crownvetch (Coronilla varia L. Penngift) is hereby selected, designated and adopted as the official State Beautification and Conservation Plant of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

CREDIT(S)
1982, June 17, P.L. 526, No. 150, § 1, effective in 60 days.

HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

1990 Main Volume

Preamble:

Act 1982, June 17, P.L. 526, No. 150, contained the following preamble:

"Whereas, Penngift Crownvetch has provided Pennsylvania with worldwide recognition as the "Crownvetch Capital"; and

"Whereas, Penngift Crownvetch was first discovered in Pennsylvania by Dr. Fred V. Grau in June 1935, extensively researched by the staff of the Pennsylvania State University and was named Penngift; Penn for Pennsylvania and Gift for the farmer on whose farm the legume was discovered; and

"Whereas, The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has successfully utilized this plant along the roadsides of every Interstate Highway throughout Pennsylvania since 1958 and receives hundreds of congratulatory letters from the motoring public on the roadside beauty created by Crownvetch; and

"Whereas, Penngift Crownvetch has successfully stabilized and prevented erosion on over fifty thousand acres of erodible soils and is recognized by conservationists as a major plant species in the reestablishment of vegetation on subsoils; and

"Whereas, Penngift Crownvetch is well recognized for its agronomic value as a livestock feed and use as a ground cover for erosion control, nitrogen feeding and soil insulation in no-till corn production".

Title of Act:

An act declaring and adopting Penngift Crownvetch (Coronilla Varia L. Penngift) as the State Beautification and Conservation Plant of Pennsylvania. 1982, June 17, P.L. 526, No. 151.

71 P.S. § 1010.2, PA ST 71 P.S. § 1010.2

Sources...

Thomson Reuters: Westlaw The Pennsylvania Statutes, (Accessed August 10, 2010)
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Pennsylvania state beautification and conservation plant

State Beautification and Conservation Plant
Richard A. Howard Image Collection, courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
Used with permission.

Additional Information

Securigera varia (L.) Lassen (crownvetch): Plant profile from the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Coronilla varia L.: Photographs and information from the The Biodiversity Sciences Technology group at the University of California, Berkley.

Coronilla varia L.: Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Here you will find authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

Coronilla varia L.: Plants For A Future: A resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants based in the United Kingdom.

crownvetch (Securigera varia (L.) Lassen): Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health: The University of Georgia - Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Dept. of Entomology.

Weed of the Week: Crown Vetch Securigera varia L.: United State Department of Agriculture fact sheet.

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