A cutout of the map of the United States has a background of flowers including sunflowers, Garden Roses, and Craspedia.
Gardening,  Inspiration,  Seasonal Flowers,  Travel

Flowers from Sea to Shining Sea

From the pristine coasts of Hawaii to the powder-covered Whiteface Mountains of the Adirondacks, the USA is blessed with beautiful views, incredible people, unique traditions, and some of the most stunning flowers on the planet! And when it comes to our state flowers, there’s literally something for everyone (think roses, poppies, hibiscus, and pine cones—yes pine cones). Scroll our map and read along as we cover the 50 different official state flowers right in time to celebrate the 4th of July in style!

Alabama: Camellia The Camellia bush can live up to 100 to 200 years! 

Alaska: Forget-me-not Its scientific name, Myosotis, was chosen because its leaves resemble mouse ears.

Arizona: Saguaro Cactus Blossom This flower-bearing cactus can grow up to nearly 40 feet tall!

Arkansas: Apple Blossom This official flower was chosen during a time when Arkansas was a major apple producer.

California: California Poppy Also known as the Golden Poppy, these beauties can pop up nearly anywhere, including sidewalks.

Colorado: Rocky Mountain Columbine To protect this delicate flower, you can only gather 25 stems per day.

Connecticut: Mountain Laurel Also known as spoonwood, Native Americans used to make spoons from the wood of this plant.

Delaware: Peach Blossom Coming from the same plant that peaches grow from, these delicate pink petals arrive before the peach leaves.

Florida: Orange Blossom This deliciously fragrant variety represents luck and good fortune.

Georgia: Cherokee Rose  Women’s clubs helped make this the official Georgia state flower. 

Hawaii: Hibiscus  This stunner comes in white, yellow, orange, pink, maroon, red, blue, and purple. 

Idaho: Mock Orange When various shrubs of Mock Orange bloom in groups, they resemble a snowy mountainside.

Illinois: Purple Violet Illinois was the first of four states to adopt this regal bloom as its official flower. 

Indiana: Peony  Before the Peony, the Zinnia was the official state flower of Indiana. 

Iowa: Wild Prairie Rose Petals of this flower can be used to make tea, salads, and more.

Kansas: Sunflower Each sunflower can hold up to 2000 seeds (read more about sunflowers here).

Kentucky: Goldenrod This variety replaced Bluegrass in 1926 as the state flower because it better represented the land of the region. 

Louisiana: Magnolia These fragrant blooms have leather-like petals.

Maine: White Pine Tassel Cone This represents the only state that doesn’t have a real official flower, but it’s lovely nonetheless.

Maryland: Black-eyed Susan This state flower can be found in abundance on roads and along highways across Maryland.

Massachusetts: Mayflower These fragrant flowers grow best in rocky or sandy soil.

Michigan: Apple Blossom These flowers are used in apple orchards to encourage bee pollination.

Minnesota: Pink and White Ladyslipper  By state law,  it’s illegal to pick this flower in Minnesota.

Mississippi: Magnolia  This state is also nicknamed “The Magnolia State.”

Missouri: Hawthorn This bloom belongs to the rose family. 

Montana: Bitterroot Inspired by the World’s Fair in Chicago, Montana was one of many states to adopt an official flower.

Nebraska: Goldenrod  Goldenrods are most often found in open areas like meadows and prairies.

Nevada: Sagebrush Native Americans used sagebrush for medical purposes and to weave materials. 

New Hampshire: Purple Lilac The official state flower is the purple lilac, but the official wildflower is the pink lady’s slipper.

New Jersey: Violet Violet petals are used in cake decoration and in candies. 

New Mexico: Yucca This desert plant boasts beautiful white flowers and can be found all around the “Land of Enchantment.”

New York: Rose This official state flower includes all color combinations of roses. 

North Carolina: Flowering Dogwood This beautiful bloom grows on one of the most common trees in North Carolina. 

North Dakota: Wild Prairie Rose Native to North America, this flower blooms between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.

Ohio: Scarlet Carnation Ohio chose the red carnation specifically to honor President William McKinley, an Ohioan.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma Rose This bloom was only chosen as the official state flower in 2003.

Oregon: Oregon Grape This shrub is actually not related to grapes at all, but the name refers, instead, to its look.

Pennsylvania: Mountain Laurel One of the first written mentions of this flower can be found in John Smith’s “General History of Virginia.”

Rhode Island: Violet Around 400-500 different species of violets exist.

South Carolina: Yellow Jessamine This flower is popularly used in perfumes. 

South Dakota: Pasque Flower  This flower often begins to bloom before the winter snow has even melted. 

Tennessee: Iris  While this flower comes in different colors, the purple iris is most associated with Tennessee.

Texas: Texas Bluebonnet This flower gets its name from the way its petals resemble bonnets worn by women in pioneer days.

Utah: Sego Lily This stunning bloom does a lot with a little—it only has three petals.

Vermont: Red Clover This flower can survive (and thrive in) the colder temperatures of Vermont.

Virginia: Flowering Dogwood This state flower is actually technically considered a tree. 

Washington: Coast Rhododendron The women of Washington chose this bloom as the state flower (even before women had the right to vote)!

West Virginia: Rhododendron This flower beat out the honeysuckles and wild rose to become the official state flower.

Wisconsin: Violet Wisconsin shares this official flower with three other states. 

Wyoming: Indian Paintbrush Because of its flaming red color, this flower is also known as “prairie fire.”

How many of these official state flowers did you know? Better yet, how many of these have you seen in person? We’re adding a few of these to our USA road trip bucket list; how about you?

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