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Tennessee State Flowers

Adoption of the Tennessee State Flowers

The State of Tennessee is different from most of the other states in that it currently has no one flower generically named as an official flower or floral emblem. Instead, it has an official wild flower and an official cultivated flower, both designated most recently in 1973. There is a story behind this.

Passionflower

State Wildflower

The story of Tennessee's state wildflower, the passionflower, began in 1919 when state school children named it as their favorite and it was adopted as Tennessee's state flower. Yes, the passion flower was initially Tennessee's one and only state flower. It was adopted in 1919 by Senate Joint Resolution No. 13.

Iris

State Cultivated Flower

The Tennessee state cultivated flower, the iris, was designated as the state flower in 1933 by the Tennessee Legislature without regard to the previously selected passion flower.

In the early 1930s, garden clubs had become quite popular around the state. With the growth of the garden clubs, the dissatisfaction with the passionflower as a representative of the state grew as well and supporters of the iris moved to have it designated the official state flower. They claimed that the passionflower was never "officially" adopted and they managed to pass legislation adopting the iris as Tennessee's state flower.

If the iris supporters thought that the passion flower had been forgotten, they were very wrong. Criticisms flew and the arguments between the two groups were passionate and often heated. In 1973, after forty years of argument, the Tennessee Legislature found compromise by declaring the passion flower (original state flower) the official state wildflower and the iris (adopted in 1933) the official state cultivated flower.

The Tennessee Code

The following information is excerpted from the Tennessee Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Part 3, Sections 4-1-306 and 4-1-307.

TITLE 4. STATE GOVERNMENT.
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
PART 3. STATE SYMBOLS.
SECTIONS 4-1-306 and 4-1-307.

4-1-306. State wild flower.
The passion flower (passiflora incarnata) is designated as the state wild flower.
[Acts 1973, ch. 16, § 1; T.C.A., § 4-117.]

4-1-307. State cultivated flower.
The iris, family iridaceae, is designated as the state cultivated flower.
[Acts 1973, ch. 16, § 2; T.C.A., § 4-118.]

Additional Information

Passiflora incarnata (Maypop): Plant Encyclopedia from MyGardenGuide.

Plant Profile for Passiflora incarnata L. (Purple Passionflower): USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Genus Iris L. (Iris): Plant Encyclopedia from MyGardenGuide.

Plant Profile for Genus Iris L. (Iris): 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, appliqué, 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: Tennesee Code and Constitution, (http://198.187.128.12/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0), September 12, 2005
Source: Simbeck, Rob. Tennessee State Symbols, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tenn. 2002
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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