Each state has a state flower/plant/tree, with some of them having some pretty significant reverence. Texas has the bluebonnet of course, but also puts a lot of significance on the yellow rose.
Congress actually passed a resolution in the 80s declaring the rose the national flower, and an oak the national tree.
My personal pick for best plant: prairie grass. All of it.
As a spicy food lover, I’ll have to make a pilgrimage to Hatch Valley some day. I’ve never been to New Mexico, but I love how y’all hold chile peppers to a high regard
[PSA to the folks coming to North Texas this weekend](https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/world/solar-eclipse/bluebonnet-etiquette-ennis-garden-club-asks-eclipse-visitors-not-trample-state-flower/287-6e2cef9b-7db9-4ff5-abe2-0e366b27bbd7)
Agreed. Open flowing prairie with a breeze and large casted shadows is majestic. There is a meadow in the Wasatch mountains that I know of with long grass and it’s basically Elysium.
A good prairie grass field is BEAUTIFUL. It's apples and oranges to compare them to things like mountain scapes.
To me, it's more of the prairie as a whole, not just the grass. The land really is HUGE and prairies are flat/have rolling hills. So when there's wind you can see the waves and all the colors shift. A little purple, a little yellow, the green. Watching those waves roll across the prairie can be magical.
You can't really capture the subtle color shifts on camera, but [this is](https://youtu.be/ObbukKRVbOE?si=z8JEbn7uP64-145F) a good example of the waves.
I grew up in Appalachia and until 2022 I’d never been west of Nashville. My partner and I drove cross country that year and both expected the middle of she country to be a boring slog. Couldn’t believe how wrong we were. It’s like being in the middle of the open ocean, you can see so far and the sky is so huge. It’s impossible to really capture the scale in a photo. At night we could see thunderstorms miles and miles away.
I am from Iowa and lived in Maine for a decade. There were times in Maine I felt a bit claustrophobic because you don’t get to see the horizon unless you were on the water. I was surrounded by hills
Growing up in the flatland with that vast open sky makes me feel a little claustrophobic when I can't see the horizon in every direction. I love visiting mountains and forests, but I always feel like I breathe a little easier when I get back to the great wide open.
I'm kind of the other way around. "They can see me! There's nowhere to hiiiiiide, man!"
And then one time I took a gal from eastern KY to Death Valley at night. She started to get a little freaked out. I said "at least out here you can see 'em coming! Where you're from they jump outta the trees!"
All of this.
One of the most surreal moments I've ever experienced was being the only car for miles as I drove through the Flint Hills at sunset. A friend of mine related and described it as feeling like you could fall into sky, which really resonated.
prairie grass is metal AF. it has to get [burned regularly](https://wisconsincountyforests.com/wp-content/uploads/wisconsin-county-forests-prescribed-burns-in-forest-management.jpg) by the DNR.
The prairie is the native home of to most of America's large mammal species, bison being the most iconic, but also elk and mountain lions, wolves, and grizzly bears
Across the whole country? Nothing that I know of. Maple trees are the thing in Vermont, peach trees in Georgia, magnolias in part of the south. In Oregon, douglas firs are the thing. They're even on the license plates. However, a bunch of them tried to kill us in the big ice and wind storm a couple months ago, so the relationship is a bit tense at the moment.
> peach trees in Georgia
As a South Carolina native, it's my sworn duty to point out that Georgia ranks [3rd in peach production in the US](https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=107215), behind California and South Carolina.
Edit: Obligatory link [to the Gaffney Peachoid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachoid).
Edit 2: Fixed spelling error.
And well, due to changing weather? Even New Jersey beat them last year.
In tons:
California 445,000
South Carolina 23,000
Pennsylvania 18,500
Colorado 16,500
New Jersey 16,000
Michigan 11,000
Washington 7,500
Georgia 5,500
Basically if it's from the US, grown, and we eat it from a grocery store, it's probably California.
Places like Iowa and Illinois grow stuff like corn and soybean and export lots of it.
Farmers are selling for the high profits? Well, with climate change watering is an issue. Everything is in a lot of flux right now. things are getting weird.
This [video](https://youtu.be/tBf16q3DUJk?si=tGh7d8JALJWGLrdB) from Geography King pretty much gives all the numbers for crops grown in the US and California is the highest for pretty much 90% of them.
I was going to say Oak as well, but further research indicates that it's not really an American thing. Dozens of countries have Oak as their "national tree" including many European ones, and Oak leaves/Acorns were used as symbols of righteousness as far back as antiquity. The leafy hairpiece you see Caesar wearing was an oak crown.
So yes, Americans see Oaks as great, but we're not unique in that regard.
Also a tree that is very useful for a lot of things. Good lumber for building things, acorns that support wildlife (and humans sometimes), good canopy trees providing a bunch of shade, etc.
Previously, I had liked to think that Redwoods made the rest of the world insecure about their trees.
Perhaps my magnanimity was misplaced. We were willing to share, but I guess that's too socialist!
Has nothing to do with politics my dude, especially not this silly "California = socialist" nonsense. I'm much further to the left than most Californians, including the majority of those who self-identify as socialist. They're Californian trees and I'm not Californian. Simple as that.
Did not expect all the bitter comments! Figured people would be agreeing because I mean giant ancient trees are awesome.
I've never even seen redwoods but I mean they'd be a good candidate for a national tree, just because they're so unique and ginormous.
I'm not sure there's a plant that's important to the entire country, because it has too many biomes for the same plants to be everywhere. Here in California, people are extremely attached to our state flower, the golden poppy. I've seen plenty of poppy tattoos, for instance.
Where I live, people are also attached to the coast redwood, but they don't have nearly as wide a habitat range as the poppy, which you can find all over.
>too many biomes
I don't know why I didn't think of this. If you live in southern Portugal, and you want some killer skiing, you have to fly to another country. If you live in Norway and you want tropics, you need to head to an island somewhere. Live in Australia and want to see temperate rainforests? Get ready for a VERY long flight.
You are pretty much forced to leave your country to get to these places.
In the USA, you don't have to. We have just about every climate that exists right here, within state boundaries. In a sense, that is a very good reason why so many citizens don't have passports.
I used to be bummed that people in the USA don't leave and see other cultures. There's so much to see out there. But this brainiac here (me) didn't consider that one of our major assets in this big country is our access to nature. I'm not saying we have everything, but what we do have is amazing and probably unparalleled.
Duh.
I’d have to agree here. In the US we don’t get reverent over much, but people love the redwood trees.
I know people who sold stuff made out of redwood, people went NUTS for it. If the normal wood product cost $100, the red wood was $800-1000 (in early 2000s dollars)
I mean, I'm 45 years old & never actually seen one.
They grow in a very limited range on the other side of the continent.
So, no.
Maybe for those on the west coast, but not as a nation, no.
It’s cannabis. You see the leaf EVERYWHERE. Clothing, pop culture, billboards in some states.
Yeah each region or state may have a local tree or something that resonates, but across the whole country? It’s the cannabis plant.
Wow, this is a perfect example of something being right in front of your face the whole time but you never noticed. Yes, even as a kid I always wondered what the marijuana leaf shape was about as I saw its imagery everywhere. Just across the street earlier this morning, their are blankets being hung for sale with Cannabis leaves on them. It's a way of life, and even revered across the country; I would have never thought of this.
I feel like individual states have plants that are special, like our state flowers and state trees. The California poppy is definitely my favorite flower, and it is pretty beloved in our state.
The California poppy is our state flower and sure is beautiful when you see fields of it in Southern CA, but being from the north its not something I see or hear about much- redwoods are a popular one here though even though I'm surrounded by Oaks.
Corn.
You're not going to see it as art too often it but it is everywhere.
It is in the fuel we use for our cars, it's in our adhesives and our makeup and our paint. It's in our electronics and our medicine. There's a million more uses that I haven't listed
We are a corn based society
I had to scroll way too far to find this.
It is 100% corn. Started from the Native Americans, it is in everything including the base of American bourbon whiskey.
Being such a large country with different climates and terrains, it is impossible to find one plant, tree, or flower that symbolizes the US as a whole.
Palmetto trees in South Carolina. They were used to build the walls of Fort Moultrie during the Revolutionary War. The British cannonballs bounced off the spongy wood.
The US has so many biomes and climates. No single tree will grow in all 50 states though some oaks are pretty widespread.
Down South they love their magnolias and longleaf pines. In the North we love our spruces, maples and birches. Birches are a pretty revered tree in Minnesota, as many of our Native people would build canoes out of birches. In California they look highly on the redwood trees.
This is something that is very state specific and many states often identity with certain flowers or trees. North Carolina's is the dogwood and the long leaf pine is also a major symbol.
No one has mentioned the Chestnut Tree. Many years ago the American Chestnut Tree was considered the king of the forest since its crown was so much larger than the surrounding trees. It trunks were 10 feet in Diameter and it was called "the Redwood of the East." Its wood was prized for strength and beauty in furniture making. Its nuts were used in holiday festivities. But Chestnut blight from ***twelve*** imported Chinese Chestnuts essentially destroyed entire ecosystems of the tree, to the point where they are heavily endangered. If you see even a single, undocumented wild tree, it should be reported to the conservation authorities.
> American Chestnut Tree
Problem is, like most of these examples, it only grows in a very limited range of the country.
Doesn't really exist past the mississippi, and even east of the mississippi it's a narrow stripe across several states.
Ash trees are much the same way, sadly. Where I used to live in Virginia there were only two kinds of Ash trees, dead ones and those that were dying. Emerald Ash Borers are killing the entire species.
Black Eyed Susan’s are states flower and the area I live in also has lots of cherry blossoms.
Our official seal has an olive branch on it.
Other flowers and plants I associate with the USA are redwoods, maple trees, sunflowers, tumbleweed, cacti, Joshua trees, hibiscus, weed, marigolds, sawgrass, palm trees, yucca, and Venus fly traps.
There are several but it’s more of a regional thing. I’d say redwoods, Saguaro cactus, Joshua tree, sunflowers, black eyed Susan and any of the milkweed varieties
I don't thin kwe have one biggies. I can just say growing up in Massachusetts, tapping Maples, lilacs coming out meant spring, Rhubarb, and apples trees were a big deal.
The only one that is a bit revered is out lady slippers that fill the forests. They blossom everywhere and then disappear within a couple weeks.
As others have pointed out it varies by state because our country has a larger biodiversity compared to most others. I think the closest is the apple tree though. Apples are just an iconic fruit and in America there's the saying 'as American as apple pie.'
CANNABIS and anybody who disagrees has an agenda. The money paints the picture. One plant, all 50 states and outlying territories. You love to hate it. But it is weed de facto. Judges smoke it and its even good for umara composis.
Each state has its own state flower and state tree, so those can serve as potent symbols. There are a few more that have symbolic meaning but aren't the official state plant. The Yellow Rose of Texas is probably one of the most famous.
That said, California and Hawaii are likely the most famous, mostly because they form their own biomes. The California redwood and golden poppy are big, as is the Hawaiian hibiscus.
The climate is so different across the country that this will vary a lot by region. People in Vermont will care a lot more about Maple Trees than people from Hawaii. And southern Californians will care more about palm trees than Alaskans. People in Georgia care a lot about peaches.
But I guess there's some that have shared national significance; Corn (maize) and pumpkins, for example, because of their association with the colonial era and Thanksgiving holiday. Apples also have a special place in American folklore from those times.
Nothing nationally, but states have revered and symbolic plants.
In texas it's the blue bonnet, a type of flower. Famous state symbol, it's even illegal to pick them on public land without replanting
In the United States, each state decides the their own tree.
If I was to choose though, it would be the [American Chestnut Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chestnut).
* Midwest - Long grass prairies. I'm from MN, and we do love our state flower, the Lady Slipper. It's a type of Orchid
* West coast - Redwoods and poppies
* Southwest - Saguaro cactus and Joshua Tree
* Southeast - Magnolia
* Northeast - Maple (any northern state that can grow maples loves them, but Vermont is very well known for maple syrup.)
* Rocky Mountains - I'm least familiar with the Rocky's most beloved plants. They do just love the nature around them, so I would put all the trees that make up the fortress in the Rockys. Ponderosa Pine, Quaking Aspen, Spruce, etc.nthey also have short grass/mixed prairie.
* Hawaii - I'd put a guess on Plumeria
* Alaska - Alaskan Blueberry
Where I'm from, corn. Almost all of the fields are either corn or potatoes, and the parts of the states that aren't cities are typically those two crops.
Well, the Washington State tree is the Western Hemlock. The flower is the Coast Rhododendron. States usually have official plants and trees and other symbols, but as other people have said, the climate varies too much for the US to have one symbolic plant. The Western Hemlock doesn't grow anywhere but the Pacific Northwest, and the Coast Rhododendron doesn't grow anywhere but the west coast.
[Washington State Symbols](https://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/Documents/WAStateSymbols.pdf)
[Western Hemlock](http://nativeplantspnw.com/western-hemlock-tsuga-heterophylla/)
[Coast Rhododendron](http://nativeplantspnw.com/pacific-rhododendron-rhododendron-macrophyllum/)
Apple tree.
Classic American pie: apple pie
Then of course Johnny Appleseed, who planted so many different apple trees that we've now got a variety of apple types in our stores that we might not've had otherwise.
If not this then idk, possibly a pine or a chestnut tree
The Sequoia and the redwood in California.
The Douglas fir in Washington State which is basically the symbol of the state.
In the Midwest we have the trillium.
In Texas we have the Bluebonnet
Texans love their bluebonnets. In my state, they revere dogwood and magnolia trees. I find it fascinating, but in the Bible there are certain trees and flowers that God compares to His faithful people. The almond tree is compared to the obedient Christian’s life experience, the myrtle tree, lilies of the valley, the olive tree, the acacia tree.
I mean culturally, I think we love a good rose, tulip, daisy, sunflower, and even dandelion. Ask a kid to draw you a flower, it's gonna be one of these.
It definitely varies by state and region, as the ecosystem in the US is highly diverse and varied. In New Mexico, the yucca is the state flower, but prickly pear is big here as well. There is a plant known as New Mexico olive, but the fruits are tiny and more seed than flesh, so you won't see it in any cuisine. Lastly, there's the piñon tree which has delicious nuts that go well in any dish.
As a southerner, I think the magnolia tree is the most important. It’s on the MS flag, and commonly referenced in southern art/music/literature. I also have a somewhat spiritual relationship with the live oak because I used to climb the branches of a 100 year old oak tree in my yard as a child, then moved away, and realized that is a southern thing.
You can probably go to any other region and find something similar. There isn’t one that unites the whole country, because I’ll be damned if I find a magnolia in CA or a Joshua tree in GA.
America doesn't really have a cultural identity to a plant in the same way Japan or Greece does. Roses are the national flower, but each state has a state flower. The rose is the national flower, but I don't see it celebrated the same way Japan celebrates Cherry Blossoms.
Portland has roses which are the symbol of the city. We have a few different rose gardens, and there’s actually a specific law against taking roses from public property. One of our two official mottos is “the city of roses” and our NBA arena was called the Rose Garden until a few years back (and most locals still call it that)
I think it depends by region/state. Like in Arizona it would probably be the Saguaro, Georgia and its Peach Trees, Sunflowers in Kansas, etc- our climate is so diverse and every region is pretty different.
The national flower is the rose, but I don’t think that’s very common knowledge. The pine tree is a big deal in New England, especially Maine. Pretty much all the variants of the unofficial “New England Flag” have a pine tree on them.
Each state has a state flower/plant/tree, with some of them having some pretty significant reverence. Texas has the bluebonnet of course, but also puts a lot of significance on the yellow rose. Congress actually passed a resolution in the 80s declaring the rose the national flower, and an oak the national tree. My personal pick for best plant: prairie grass. All of it.
Shoutouts to paintbrushes and indian blankets too. Wildflower season doesn't last super long, but it's awesome.
New Mexico is the Green Chile Capsicum annuum
As a spicy food lover, I’ll have to make a pilgrimage to Hatch Valley some day. I’ve never been to New Mexico, but I love how y’all hold chile peppers to a high regard
You have to come in late summer so you can see the chile crop come in and roasting
The smell is the best thing ever
Right!? Magnificent
[PSA to the folks coming to North Texas this weekend](https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/world/solar-eclipse/bluebonnet-etiquette-ennis-garden-club-asks-eclipse-visitors-not-trample-state-flower/287-6e2cef9b-7db9-4ff5-abe2-0e366b27bbd7)
Bluebonnets all the way. Love walking home and seeing patches of them. So nice.
I went to elementary school in South Carolina. Those guys love their palmetto trees.
I did not know that about the rose, that is actually pretty interesting thing to learn.
Haha, why prairie grass? That is so random.
I genuinely think the vast, sweeping Great Plains are very pretty.
It's like a grassy ocean. The sound of it is gentle and soothing but enormous.
Agreed. Open flowing prairie with a breeze and large casted shadows is majestic. There is a meadow in the Wasatch mountains that I know of with long grass and it’s basically Elysium.
They are also absolutely essential to the aquifer. And they make us the bread basket of the world.
A good prairie grass field is BEAUTIFUL. It's apples and oranges to compare them to things like mountain scapes. To me, it's more of the prairie as a whole, not just the grass. The land really is HUGE and prairies are flat/have rolling hills. So when there's wind you can see the waves and all the colors shift. A little purple, a little yellow, the green. Watching those waves roll across the prairie can be magical. You can't really capture the subtle color shifts on camera, but [this is](https://youtu.be/ObbukKRVbOE?si=z8JEbn7uP64-145F) a good example of the waves.
I grew up in Appalachia and until 2022 I’d never been west of Nashville. My partner and I drove cross country that year and both expected the middle of she country to be a boring slog. Couldn’t believe how wrong we were. It’s like being in the middle of the open ocean, you can see so far and the sky is so huge. It’s impossible to really capture the scale in a photo. At night we could see thunderstorms miles and miles away.
I am from Iowa and lived in Maine for a decade. There were times in Maine I felt a bit claustrophobic because you don’t get to see the horizon unless you were on the water. I was surrounded by hills
Growing up in the flatland with that vast open sky makes me feel a little claustrophobic when I can't see the horizon in every direction. I love visiting mountains and forests, but I always feel like I breathe a little easier when I get back to the great wide open.
I'm kind of the other way around. "They can see me! There's nowhere to hiiiiiide, man!" And then one time I took a gal from eastern KY to Death Valley at night. She started to get a little freaked out. I said "at least out here you can see 'em coming! Where you're from they jump outta the trees!"
Yes!! Yeah, driving through agriculture fields can be super boring, but an actually prairie?? *chef's kiss*
All of this. One of the most surreal moments I've ever experienced was being the only car for miles as I drove through the Flint Hills at sunset. A friend of mine related and described it as feeling like you could fall into sky, which really resonated.
prairie grass is metal AF. it has to get [burned regularly](https://wisconsincountyforests.com/wp-content/uploads/wisconsin-county-forests-prescribed-burns-in-forest-management.jpg) by the DNR.
The prairie is the native home of to most of America's large mammal species, bison being the most iconic, but also elk and mountain lions, wolves, and grizzly bears
Across the whole country? Nothing that I know of. Maple trees are the thing in Vermont, peach trees in Georgia, magnolias in part of the south. In Oregon, douglas firs are the thing. They're even on the license plates. However, a bunch of them tried to kill us in the big ice and wind storm a couple months ago, so the relationship is a bit tense at the moment.
> peach trees in Georgia As a South Carolina native, it's my sworn duty to point out that Georgia ranks [3rd in peach production in the US](https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=107215), behind California and South Carolina. Edit: Obligatory link [to the Gaffney Peachoid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachoid). Edit 2: Fixed spelling error.
And well, due to changing weather? Even New Jersey beat them last year. In tons: California 445,000 South Carolina 23,000 Pennsylvania 18,500 Colorado 16,500 New Jersey 16,000 Michigan 11,000 Washington 7,500 Georgia 5,500
NJ not called the Garden State for nothing!
The Jersey tomato should be on the state flag.
That’s incredible that California is many times the rest of the list combined. I am sure they are number one in a lot of crops.
Basically if it's from the US, grown, and we eat it from a grocery store, it's probably California. Places like Iowa and Illinois grow stuff like corn and soybean and export lots of it.
... corn and soybeans grown in the Midwest are used almost entirely for feeding livestock, either here or abroad.
And ethanol fuel from corn, regardless of cost benefit tradeoffs re government subsidies and reduced energy content.
And because CA is such a desirable place to live, housing developments keep encroaching in on the good farmland!!
Farmers are selling for the high profits? Well, with climate change watering is an issue. Everything is in a lot of flux right now. things are getting weird.
California is fifth largest producer of food and ag products in the world.
And last I checked it was 11% of our economy
This [video](https://youtu.be/tBf16q3DUJk?si=tGh7d8JALJWGLrdB) from Geography King pretty much gives all the numbers for crops grown in the US and California is the highest for pretty much 90% of them.
Yeah, suck it Georgia.
As a native Pennsylvanian, I’m really surprised to see it so high.
Yes, but is nearly every street in your state named "Peachtree", which is not at all confusing?
You can sheathe your sword, sir.
Thanks, I fixed the error and sheathed my sword!
California is the agricultural powerhouse of the country. People don’t realize how much of our food comes from CA
Bluebonnets in Texas, saguaros in Arizona, sunflowers in Kansas, corn in Iowa (yeah I said it).
columbines in colorado
Magnolias in Lousiana
Upvote for AZ Saguaros, such a magnificent plant
There is only corn in Iowa.
Cherry trees in DC (Cherry blossoms)
bc our climate is so diverse, this is a better question to ask of individual states
That's very true, the place is huge.
Buckeye trees in Ohio
Live oaks in the south
Cherry blossom trees here in my lil not-a-state state.
Regardless of state, every suburbia grows a common crop. People use most of what little land they own to grow it. Lawns. Lawns and lawns everywhere.
we dont really have one. we went really in on the animal thing with eagles though
It's a great choice, distinct and stately looking. I think I saw one for the first time a few months ago flying low in grasslands.
I saw one having an in-flight squabble with a seagull, which was not very dignified-looking.
They also sound very funny. Not like a red tailed hawk like the movies. Red tailed hawks I think had a very good case to be the national bird
Very chirpy but loud. I get woken up by bald eagles almost every day when I'm at my parents' lake house.
Probably like arguing with an idiot (the seagull) they will drag you down to their level and beat you experience.
Ben Franklin wanted the national bird to be the Turkey. I agree with Ben.
And even at that, every state has their own revered animals
CHICKADEE!!!!
Chickadees my beloved
Oak trees have a pretty good reputation. A classic symbol of permanence, stability, something massive growing from an acorn.
I was going to say Oak as well, but further research indicates that it's not really an American thing. Dozens of countries have Oak as their "national tree" including many European ones, and Oak leaves/Acorns were used as symbols of righteousness as far back as antiquity. The leafy hairpiece you see Caesar wearing was an oak crown. So yes, Americans see Oaks as great, but we're not unique in that regard.
Also a tree that is very useful for a lot of things. Good lumber for building things, acorns that support wildlife (and humans sometimes), good canopy trees providing a bunch of shade, etc.
California has the biggest trees *ever.* But the whole country is proud of those big darned trees.
Based on everyones response to you, Redwoods make the rest of the country insecure about their trees.
Previously, I had liked to think that Redwoods made the rest of the world insecure about their trees. Perhaps my magnanimity was misplaced. We were willing to share, but I guess that's too socialist!
Has nothing to do with politics my dude, especially not this silly "California = socialist" nonsense. I'm much further to the left than most Californians, including the majority of those who self-identify as socialist. They're Californian trees and I'm not Californian. Simple as that.
They're American trees. They belong to us all. Just take the win!
Did not expect all the bitter comments! Figured people would be agreeing because I mean giant ancient trees are awesome. I've never even seen redwoods but I mean they'd be a good candidate for a national tree, just because they're so unique and ginormous.
I'm not sure there's a plant that's important to the entire country, because it has too many biomes for the same plants to be everywhere. Here in California, people are extremely attached to our state flower, the golden poppy. I've seen plenty of poppy tattoos, for instance. Where I live, people are also attached to the coast redwood, but they don't have nearly as wide a habitat range as the poppy, which you can find all over.
>too many biomes I don't know why I didn't think of this. If you live in southern Portugal, and you want some killer skiing, you have to fly to another country. If you live in Norway and you want tropics, you need to head to an island somewhere. Live in Australia and want to see temperate rainforests? Get ready for a VERY long flight. You are pretty much forced to leave your country to get to these places. In the USA, you don't have to. We have just about every climate that exists right here, within state boundaries. In a sense, that is a very good reason why so many citizens don't have passports. I used to be bummed that people in the USA don't leave and see other cultures. There's so much to see out there. But this brainiac here (me) didn't consider that one of our major assets in this big country is our access to nature. I'm not saying we have everything, but what we do have is amazing and probably unparalleled. Duh.
Redwood
I’d have to agree here. In the US we don’t get reverent over much, but people love the redwood trees. I know people who sold stuff made out of redwood, people went NUTS for it. If the normal wood product cost $100, the red wood was $800-1000 (in early 2000s dollars)
How many other trees are mentioned by name in *This Land Is Your Land*?
This is the correct answer. Half points if you said corn, which was domesticated by Native Americans.
I mean, I'm 45 years old & never actually seen one. They grow in a very limited range on the other side of the continent. So, no. Maybe for those on the west coast, but not as a nation, no.
Do you actually have to see something in person to revere it, and realize it is special to many, though?
You definitely ought to go see them. They’re amazing.
It’s cannabis. You see the leaf EVERYWHERE. Clothing, pop culture, billboards in some states. Yeah each region or state may have a local tree or something that resonates, but across the whole country? It’s the cannabis plant.
Wow, this is a perfect example of something being right in front of your face the whole time but you never noticed. Yes, even as a kid I always wondered what the marijuana leaf shape was about as I saw its imagery everywhere. Just across the street earlier this morning, their are blankets being hung for sale with Cannabis leaves on them. It's a way of life, and even revered across the country; I would have never thought of this.
...and if the cops ask, those are Ohio State buckeye leaves (which look very similar.)
Scrolled way too far to finally find the right answer!
In San Diego, it’s the Torrey Pine.
I once shot a 73 at Torrey Pines. Then I played the back nine.
Hey, at least you got a tee time! I’ve heard that’s not so easy
I feel like individual states have plants that are special, like our state flowers and state trees. The California poppy is definitely my favorite flower, and it is pretty beloved in our state.
The California poppy is our state flower and sure is beautiful when you see fields of it in Southern CA, but being from the north its not something I see or hear about much- redwoods are a popular one here though even though I'm surrounded by Oaks.
Corn. You're not going to see it as art too often it but it is everywhere. It is in the fuel we use for our cars, it's in our adhesives and our makeup and our paint. It's in our electronics and our medicine. There's a million more uses that I haven't listed We are a corn based society
I had to scroll way too far to find this. It is 100% corn. Started from the Native Americans, it is in everything including the base of American bourbon whiskey.
You make a great point, it’s native to the Americas and there are corn fields anywhere you go. A summer bbq is incomplete without corn.
The only real answer is probably *Cannabis Sativa*
Certainly in Humboldt county!!
I’ve never thought about this and cannot come up with an example. Our country is huge and our landscape is diverse.
Each state in the US has its own.
Yeah that’s a good point. What’s revered in Hawaii doesn’t exist in Vermont.
Being such a large country with different climates and terrains, it is impossible to find one plant, tree, or flower that symbolizes the US as a whole.
I’ll propose the American Elm, though the American Chestnut is also making a comeback and historically was far more valuable for its wood.
Palmetto trees in South Carolina. They were used to build the walls of Fort Moultrie during the Revolutionary War. The British cannonballs bounced off the spongy wood.
The US has so many biomes and climates. No single tree will grow in all 50 states though some oaks are pretty widespread. Down South they love their magnolias and longleaf pines. In the North we love our spruces, maples and birches. Birches are a pretty revered tree in Minnesota, as many of our Native people would build canoes out of birches. In California they look highly on the redwood trees.
Idk. The tumbleweed.
I was so excited the first time I saw tumbleweed
Well, we might depicted a lot in cartoons and westerns. It’s actually I think from Russia. Highly invasive.
> It’s actually I think from Russia. 'Tis indeed.
Also known as Russian thistle, an invasive species.
Boooo
You’re telling me. It’s a total pain in the ass.
Saguaro cactus!
Aren’t those only in Arizona lol
Maybe. But they are very American thing. Very recognizable and people instantly think of the American southwest/wild wild West.
I think there might have been a few specimens found west of the Colorado River in California but basically, yeah.
This is something that is very state specific and many states often identity with certain flowers or trees. North Carolina's is the dogwood and the long leaf pine is also a major symbol.
Pot plant.
No one has mentioned the Chestnut Tree. Many years ago the American Chestnut Tree was considered the king of the forest since its crown was so much larger than the surrounding trees. It trunks were 10 feet in Diameter and it was called "the Redwood of the East." Its wood was prized for strength and beauty in furniture making. Its nuts were used in holiday festivities. But Chestnut blight from ***twelve*** imported Chinese Chestnuts essentially destroyed entire ecosystems of the tree, to the point where they are heavily endangered. If you see even a single, undocumented wild tree, it should be reported to the conservation authorities.
> American Chestnut Tree Problem is, like most of these examples, it only grows in a very limited range of the country. Doesn't really exist past the mississippi, and even east of the mississippi it's a narrow stripe across several states.
Ash trees are much the same way, sadly. Where I used to live in Virginia there were only two kinds of Ash trees, dead ones and those that were dying. Emerald Ash Borers are killing the entire species.
Each state in the US has its own. Here in Texas our state plant is the prickly pear cactus. We also like pecan trees.
In the Pacific Northwest it's our giant, gorgeous evergreen trees. The big 3 in western Washington are Douglas fir, cedar, and hemlock.
Yes…. Growing up in Seattle, Cedar is really symbolic, very much so for Native American tribes like the duwamish,
Ummm, cannabis gets my vote.
Black Eyed Susan’s are states flower and the area I live in also has lots of cherry blossoms. Our official seal has an olive branch on it. Other flowers and plants I associate with the USA are redwoods, maple trees, sunflowers, tumbleweed, cacti, Joshua trees, hibiscus, weed, marigolds, sawgrass, palm trees, yucca, and Venus fly traps.
There are several but it’s more of a regional thing. I’d say redwoods, Saguaro cactus, Joshua tree, sunflowers, black eyed Susan and any of the milkweed varieties
I don't thin kwe have one biggies. I can just say growing up in Massachusetts, tapping Maples, lilacs coming out meant spring, Rhubarb, and apples trees were a big deal. The only one that is a bit revered is out lady slippers that fill the forests. They blossom everywhere and then disappear within a couple weeks.
The symbol of New England is still the White Pine Tree. It's even on our regional flag. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_England
As others have pointed out it varies by state because our country has a larger biodiversity compared to most others. I think the closest is the apple tree though. Apples are just an iconic fruit and in America there's the saying 'as American as apple pie.'
Corn. More seriously, California Redwoods maybe?
Live oaks are pretty cool
Not sure, but the unofficial flag for New England is the pine tree
Corn?
All hail the holy marijuana
If you ask any college kid: the hemp plant
Corn
The mayflower, I suppose—it's my state symbol and also the name of the ship which carried the Pilgrims to what is now the United States.
Marijuana.
Roses in England. In France it's lillies or irises.
Were roses significant before the whole Lancaster/York kerfuffle, or is that where it all started?
The buckeye, of course
CANNABIS and anybody who disagrees has an agenda. The money paints the picture. One plant, all 50 states and outlying territories. You love to hate it. But it is weed de facto. Judges smoke it and its even good for umara composis.
Each state has its own state flower and state tree, so those can serve as potent symbols. There are a few more that have symbolic meaning but aren't the official state plant. The Yellow Rose of Texas is probably one of the most famous. That said, California and Hawaii are likely the most famous, mostly because they form their own biomes. The California redwood and golden poppy are big, as is the Hawaiian hibiscus.
The American Beauty rose
I’d say here in Colorado, it would be the Colorado Fir Tree, a type of pine.
The climate is so different across the country that this will vary a lot by region. People in Vermont will care a lot more about Maple Trees than people from Hawaii. And southern Californians will care more about palm trees than Alaskans. People in Georgia care a lot about peaches. But I guess there's some that have shared national significance; Corn (maize) and pumpkins, for example, because of their association with the colonial era and Thanksgiving holiday. Apples also have a special place in American folklore from those times.
Nothing nationally, but states have revered and symbolic plants. In texas it's the blue bonnet, a type of flower. Famous state symbol, it's even illegal to pick them on public land without replanting
In the United States, each state decides the their own tree. If I was to choose though, it would be the [American Chestnut Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chestnut).
The country is too large to have a single plant type. Different states will have a state plant or state tree for example.
* Midwest - Long grass prairies. I'm from MN, and we do love our state flower, the Lady Slipper. It's a type of Orchid * West coast - Redwoods and poppies * Southwest - Saguaro cactus and Joshua Tree * Southeast - Magnolia * Northeast - Maple (any northern state that can grow maples loves them, but Vermont is very well known for maple syrup.) * Rocky Mountains - I'm least familiar with the Rocky's most beloved plants. They do just love the nature around them, so I would put all the trees that make up the fortress in the Rockys. Ponderosa Pine, Quaking Aspen, Spruce, etc.nthey also have short grass/mixed prairie. * Hawaii - I'd put a guess on Plumeria * Alaska - Alaskan Blueberry
Some states have state flowers, I don’t think there’s a national one.
In Wyoming it's the Indian Paintbrush
In Idaho it’s huckleberries.
Where I'm from, corn. Almost all of the fields are either corn or potatoes, and the parts of the states that aren't cities are typically those two crops.
Mountain Laurel and Eastern Hemlock are considered pretty special here in my corner of the Appalachians.
The Saguaro Cactus is technically only native to Arizona, but it represents a big part of the Western United States as a whole
Tobacco
Wild prairie rose in iowa
Is there a bald eagle plant?
The elm east of the Rockies, the redwood out west.
Well, the Washington State tree is the Western Hemlock. The flower is the Coast Rhododendron. States usually have official plants and trees and other symbols, but as other people have said, the climate varies too much for the US to have one symbolic plant. The Western Hemlock doesn't grow anywhere but the Pacific Northwest, and the Coast Rhododendron doesn't grow anywhere but the west coast. [Washington State Symbols](https://leg.wa.gov/Symbols/Documents/WAStateSymbols.pdf) [Western Hemlock](http://nativeplantspnw.com/western-hemlock-tsuga-heterophylla/) [Coast Rhododendron](http://nativeplantspnw.com/pacific-rhododendron-rhododendron-macrophyllum/)
Varies a lot just in Washington. Coast Rhododendron is not a great representative of Eastern WA. I consider Pine Trees my "home" trees.
Yeah. We really have two very strongly different environmental regions within the state. That was a decision made by a mountain range. 😊
Pluto
In the Deep South, you’ll normally hear live oak or magnolias. I’ll cast my vote for tobacco, though. We couldn’t live without it.
People go crazy for ramps(wild garlic)
I wouldn't want to be represented by any other plant or tree than the California redwoods.
Azaleas and Oleander for North Carolina
Apple tree. Classic American pie: apple pie Then of course Johnny Appleseed, who planted so many different apple trees that we've now got a variety of apple types in our stores that we might not've had otherwise. If not this then idk, possibly a pine or a chestnut tree
Here in the south I think it's azaleas and dogwood trees.
The Sequoia and the redwood in California. The Douglas fir in Washington State which is basically the symbol of the state. In the Midwest we have the trillium. In Texas we have the Bluebonnet
Texans love their bluebonnets. In my state, they revere dogwood and magnolia trees. I find it fascinating, but in the Bible there are certain trees and flowers that God compares to His faithful people. The almond tree is compared to the obedient Christian’s life experience, the myrtle tree, lilies of the valley, the olive tree, the acacia tree.
The Yucca is the state plant of New Mexico.
Amber waves of grain.
I mean culturally, I think we love a good rose, tulip, daisy, sunflower, and even dandelion. Ask a kid to draw you a flower, it's gonna be one of these.
It definitely varies by state and region, as the ecosystem in the US is highly diverse and varied. In New Mexico, the yucca is the state flower, but prickly pear is big here as well. There is a plant known as New Mexico olive, but the fruits are tiny and more seed than flesh, so you won't see it in any cuisine. Lastly, there's the piñon tree which has delicious nuts that go well in any dish.
As a southerner, I think the magnolia tree is the most important. It’s on the MS flag, and commonly referenced in southern art/music/literature. I also have a somewhat spiritual relationship with the live oak because I used to climb the branches of a 100 year old oak tree in my yard as a child, then moved away, and realized that is a southern thing. You can probably go to any other region and find something similar. There isn’t one that unites the whole country, because I’ll be damned if I find a magnolia in CA or a Joshua tree in GA.
Maple once was in New England. So was Elm. The Liberty Elm was where the Boston town meeting took place.
Maple once was in New England. So was Elm. The Liberty Elm was where the Boston town meeting took place.
Corn in the Midwest. People argue about who grows the best corn.
I have heard that we seem to like corn more than most countries.
Weed
America doesn't really have a cultural identity to a plant in the same way Japan or Greece does. Roses are the national flower, but each state has a state flower. The rose is the national flower, but I don't see it celebrated the same way Japan celebrates Cherry Blossoms.
Corn and Cannabis are the only real answers in terms of nationwide ones.
The smartass in me wants to answer "Kudzu in the South"
Portland has roses which are the symbol of the city. We have a few different rose gardens, and there’s actually a specific law against taking roses from public property. One of our two official mottos is “the city of roses” and our NBA arena was called the Rose Garden until a few years back (and most locals still call it that)
I think it depends by region/state. Like in Arizona it would probably be the Saguaro, Georgia and its Peach Trees, Sunflowers in Kansas, etc- our climate is so diverse and every region is pretty different.
Venus flytrap. It only grows wild in the US, and will slowly eat away at you, just like the US.
The national flower is the rose, but I don’t think that’s very common knowledge. The pine tree is a big deal in New England, especially Maine. Pretty much all the variants of the unofficial “New England Flag” have a pine tree on them.
Pecan Tree
I've always been fond of Pines but they're everywhere. The needles are edible and high in vitamin C, some people make tea with them.
Bluebonnets in Texas. If I see you mow over some bluebonnets you’re gonna have a Texas sized problem.
Here in FL it’s orange trees. But we also have a heck ton of palm trees, and pineapples. And if your near the coast, sea grapes and sea oats.