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Minnesota State Flower

Pink and White Lady Slipper Cypripedium reginae Adopted:February 19, 1902

Adoption of the Minnesota State Flower

Minnesota Building: 1893 World's Exposition
Minnesota Building
1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Encouraged by the promotion of the National Garland of Flowers for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (World's Columbian Exposition) and The Ladies' Auxilliary of the State World's Fair Commission, Minnesota State Senator W. B. Dean sponsored a Resolution naming the moccasin flower, or lady slipper, (Cypripedium calceolus) the state's official state flower. The bill was quickly adopted by an act of the State Legislature on February 3, 1893.

Ooops...

Minnesota State Flower: Pink and White Lady Slipper
Cypripedium reginae
The Botanical Magazine, 1793

Controversy ensued when the ladies of the Saint Anthony Study Circle of Minneapolis announced that Cypripedium calceolus was not found in Minnesota. On February 2, 1902, the Minneapolis Tribune reported on page 6, "State Flower Called Fake".

The Legislature, somewhat flustered, moved quickly to correct the situation and, on February 19, 1902, Cypripedium reginae was adopted as the "...official flower of the state of Minnesota" by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota.

On April 25, 1925, the Legislature passed a law saying that, "...no person within the State of Minnesota knowingly shall buy, sell, offer of expose for sale, the state flower (Cypripedium reginae) or any species of lady slipper (Cypripedium) or any member of the orchid family ..." This legislation has been modified significantly over the years. Current law is detailed here.

The Minnesota Statutes

The following information is excerpted from the Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 1, Section 1.142 and Chapter 18H, Section 18H.18.

Additional Information

ALTTAG
Minnesota State Flower: Pink and White Lady Slipper

Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae): In-depth information from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Information on transplanting Lady's-slipper Orchids: Information on transplanting lady slippers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.   Adobe Acrobat Reader required.

Cypripedium reginae (Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid): Plant Encyclopedia from MyGardenGuide.

Plant Profile for Cypripedium reginae (Pink and White Lady Slipper): USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

State Flower List: List of all of the state flowers.

State Birds & Flowers 1000-pc Puzzle: Created at the request of The National Wildlife Federation this design is a beautiful and informative puzzle featuring every state bird perched on the appropriate state flower.

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book by Annika Bernhard - 51 accurately detailed, copyright-free renderings include national bird (eagle) and flower (rose) plus 50 state birds and flowers.

U. S. State Flowers in Cross Stitch by Gerda Bengtsson - Botanically correct cross stitch designs of state flowers of the 50 States.

Quilting Flowers of the States by Sue Harvey - A lovely 12-inch flower block for each of the 50 states. Techniques used are piecing, appliqu?, paper-piecing and three-dimensional techniques.

Plants, Seeds & Flowers: Bulbs, seeds, plants, fertilizer, plant containers and more.

Gardening Tools: Pruners, rakes, shovels, hoes, trowels, cultivators and tillers, greenhouses, yard carts and more.

State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide, Third Edition - Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Greenwood Press, 2002

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols: A Study based on historical documents giving the origin and significance of the state names, nicknames, mottoes, seals, flowers, birds, songs, and descriptive comments on the capitol buildings and on some of the leading state histories, Revised Edition - George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., The H.W. Wilson Company, 1938 (Reprint Services Corp. 1971)


Source: Minnesota Statutes, (http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/statutes.asp), July 27, 2005
Source: State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide, Third Edition - Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Greenwood Press, 2002
Source: State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols: Revised Edition (Reprint)- George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., The H.W. Wilson Company, 1938

 
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