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State Flower of Connecticut

Flower: Mountain Laurel (Kalmia Latifolia)

The mountain laurel was adopted as Connecticut’s state flower on April 17, 1907. Little was recorded about its adoption, except that three thousand women signed a petition endorsing it.

The mountain laurel’s pink and white blossoms are a striking contrast to the dark forests and fields in which it grows. Eating utensils could be made from the shrub’s fine, even-grained wood. This may be why Native Americans called it spoon wood.

The first known written record of mountain laurel is in John Smith’s General History of Virginia, published in 1624. The mountain laurel is also the state flower of Pennsylvania.