What Is The State Flower of Louisiana?

Louisiana is an American state situated in the southern region of the country. Louisiana is the 25th most populous state in the country and home to the highest number of Cajuns. Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians who were chased out of Canada in 1700 after refusing to pledge their allegiance to the British monarch. Louisiana gained statehood on April 30, 1812, and just like all the other states, Louisiana has its flag, state seal, and state flower, and state wildflower.

Louisiana's State Flower

The state flower of Louisiana is the Southern Magnolia, also known as the Magnolia grandiflora. Magnolia is native to South America, southwest and East Asia, the West Indies, Central America, and the eastern parts of North America. The Southern Magnolia is grown as an ornamental flowering tree in the state. Magnolia is a huge genus with over 210 species in the Magnoliaceae family. It is a prehistoric plant genus that is believed to have appeared before the bees. Magnolia was named by a French botanist known as Magnol Pierre. The locals love paying homage to Magnolia flower that is beautiful and quintessentially southern.The Magnolia flower became the official state flower of Louisiana in 1900.

Description

Magnolia flowers grow at the tip of the branches of the Magnolia tree. The Magnolia grandiflora is a huge evergreen tree which can attain a maximum height of about 90 ft. The huge dark-green leaves of the Magnolia tree are about 4.75 inches wide and 7.75 inches long. The tree has a pyramidal shape and a single stem. The flower is big, showy, and fragrant white with a diameter of about 11.75 inches. The flowers have 6 to 12 petals and 3 sepals with a waxy texture which emerge from the twig’s tips during the late spring season. Magnolia flowers don’t have true petals like other flowers; they have some petal-like tepals. After flowering, the tree produces a rose-colored fruit that is about 2 inches wide and over 3 inches long.

Louisiana State Wildflower

The official wildflower of Louisiana is the Iris giganticaerulea, commonly known as the Louisiana iris. It was designated in 1990. Louisiana iris is a rhizomatous perennial plant that is native to northern America. It has a large green rhizome that is about 12 inches long and 1.5 inches thick. Iris giganticaerulea is a shallow rooted plant with about 6 bright green, sword-shaped leaves that are about 1.5 inches wide and 30 inches long. Its tall stems can attain a maximum length of approximately 71inches with three branches. These branches have one or two terminal flowers, and an iris plant can have up to 12 flowers.

These flowers range in color from violet-blue, to dark blue, to lavender blue, and to pale blue. Occasionally, the Louisiana iris can produce yellowish white or white flowers. The Louisiana iris blossoms from early to mid-summer. Its fragrance has a musky scent. The flowers of this iris species are about 6inches across with three outer sepals and six petals. It also has three inner sepals which are narrower and slightly erected as compared to the outer sepals. The outer sepals are usually arched downwards, and they have a faint orange or yellow signal patch.