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Flowers & Floral Emblems

The term floral emblem, which refers to flowers specifically, is primarily used in Australia and Canada. In the United States, the term state flower is more often used.

Kentucky State Flower

Goldenrod

(Solidago spp.)

Adopted on October 1, 1942.

The State flower is the Goldenrod, Solidago spp. It was adopted in 1942. The Goldenrod is a beautiful and hearty plant is happy to move to a decorative place no other plants want to be. It is often blamed for allergies in Kentucky, but the Goldenrod is actually harmless. The allergic reactions Kentuckians experience are due to the Ragweed which blooms at the same time and grows in the same areas.

The golden plumes of this wildflower line Kentucky's roadsides in the fall. Native to all of Kentucky, 30 of nearly 100 species of this herb are found here.

The large number of species and variations make this genus very difficult resolve to the species. The Goldenrods as a group are well know and very common turning fallow fields and meadows yellow every fall. Goldenrods are mostly an American genus with the greatest number of species found in the Southeastern US

Kentucky Revised Statutes
2.090 State flower.
The goldenrod is the official Flower of Kentucky.
Effective: October 1, 1942
History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky.
Stat. sec. 4618o.

Plant Type: This is a Native herbaceous plant perennial forb. Ususlly erect and often tall.
Leaves: The leaves are alternate. Most leaves are toothed but a few species have entire leaves.
Flowers: Blooms July-October. The flowers have numerous parts. They are yellow sometimes white. Blooms first appear in mid summer and continue into mid fall. The center and rays are yellow. The rays are few, seldom more than ten. Groups of flowers are often clustered on the top edge of branches near or at the top of the plant.
Habitat: Various
Range: Most all of North America

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons
Subclass	Asteridae –
Order	Asterales –
Family	Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus	Solidago L. – goldenrod

State Flowers

Find images and a brief history of the flowers representing, usually by legislative action, the state symbols of each of the fifty states. Many of the state flowers are actually trees -- some states have chosen the same species as state tree and as state flower.

flow·er (flour)
n.
1.
a. It is the reproductive structure of many seed-bearing plants, typically having either specialized male or female organs or both male and female organs, like stamens and a pistil, enclosed in an outer envelope of petals and sepals. b. Such a structure having showy or colorful parts; a blossom.
2. A plant that is cultivated or cherished for its blossoms. 3. The condition or a time of having developed flowers: The violets were in full flower. 4. Something, such as an decoration or a figure of speech that resembles a flower in shape, fineness, or attractiveness.