In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, the U.S. Botanic Garden is showcasing the flowers each U.S. state and territory has chosen as their official flower. The April-October 2026 exhibit shares their sights and stories with living plants, artistic displays, botanical illustrations, and herbarium specimens.

From fragrant magnolia flowers and roses to native orchids, bluebonnets, and saguaro cactus flowers, enjoy the variety as we feature the floral beauty that symbolizes America.

See the full list on our America's State Flowers webpage, and continue reading to learn more as we showcase each official flower.

New Hampshire | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina and Virginia | Northern Mariana Islands | Ohio

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris)

purple flowers

The cold-loving lilac was named the state flower in 1919, beating out a wide variety of competitors — the apple blossom, purple aster, woodlily, mayflower, goldenrod, wild pasture rose, evening primrose, and buttercup!

It was noted that the purple lilac was first brought over from England and planted at the home of New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth in 1750. One historian described it as "symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State."

[Photo above by UNH Extension.]
[First photo below by Jjron.]

Bloom time: May-June

 

light purple flowers paper flowers in the exhibit with a New Hampshire label

NEW MEXICO

Yucca (Yucca spp.)

flower up close with the U.S. Capitol Dome behind

A popular, long-lived landscape plant in the southwestern United States, it has a symbiotic relationship with its only pollinator. Adult female yucca moths are uniquely adapted to pollinate yucca flowers, ensuring the flowers make seeds upon which the moth larvae feed.

Bloom time: May-June

view of the full plant paper flowers in the exhibit with a New Mexico label

NEW YORK

Rose (Rosa spp.)

flower up close

Selected by a poll of schoolchildren in 1891, New York law recognizes the state flower as the rose "in any color or combination of colors common to it."

Find many roses in bloom in our Rose Garden! And learn about the Rose as our national floral emblem in this blog post.

Bloom time: Late April-October

dark pink flowers bunch of flowers together paper flowers in the exhibit with a New York label view full plant two flowers together a bee on a flower

NORTH CAROLINA & VIRGINIA

American dogwood (Cornus florida)

flowers up close

In spring, the garden awakens from the stillness of winter. Warmer air heats the soil. The days grow longer. As plants respond to rising temperatures and lengthening daylight, they release hormones that prompt seeds to sprout and buds to swell on trees and bushes. Flowering dogwood sports white (and sometimes pink) spring blooms.

You can identify a dogwood by several distinct features:

  • checkered-patterned bark
  • forked branches
  • turban-shaped flower buds
  • red fruits
  • showy bloom

Flowering dogwood grows in forests throughout most of the eastern United States. Although the dogwood is a forest tree, it has also become a popular ornamental tree for homeowners because of its compact size, beautiful bloom, and year-round interest.

a single flower in focus paper flowers in the exhibit with a North Carolina & Virginia label white flowers up close view of the full tree

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

Flores mayo (Plumeria spp.)

white flowers and green leaves

Plumeria flowers, also called flores mayo, are known for their distinctive scent. The Carolinian people of the Northern Mariana Islands also use them in traditional head garlands, which appear on the territorial flag.

Find these beauties in our Garden Court.

Bloom time: May-July

flowers up close view of full plant with a bench in the background paper flowers in the exhibit with a Norther Mariana Islands label

OHIO

Scarlet carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus)

red flower up close

President William McKinley considered the scarlet carnation a lucky charm. It was chosen as the state flower after his assassination to represent "a token of love and reverence" for the Ohioan president.

Find this state flower in our Mediterranean house.

Bloom time: May-July

view of full plant in a planter red paper flower in the exhibit with an Ohio label

This is part six of an eight-article blog series. Keep checking usbg.gov/blog to explore the rest of this series, and stop by the Garden to see the exhibit in person before it closes October 12, 2026!