Maine State Flower: White Pine Cone

Maine State Flower Coloring

One of the strangest state flowers is the White Pine Cone. The Pine Cone is not a flower or a seed either one. It does emit a sweet scent from its resin though. Pine trees are almost synonymous with Maine, so it's not a completely strange choice. 

I love the way they look and it was fun to draw this one. The Pine needles are Blue Green and the cones are Silvery White. 

It can take a few years before a Pine tree produces a Pine Cone. So don't pick them. Let them do their job of dispersing seeds into the landscape. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Louisiana State Flower: Magnolia

Louisiana State Flower Coloring

Louisiana, land of New Orleans! And steamy landscapes, lakes, and Magnolias with their sweet scent. It's the Deep South, the mansions in the middle of huge vine covered trees are here and the beautiful architecture with French influences, and the Cajun sea food. I love Louisiana and have many relatives there, scattered all over the state. The Magnolias bring back so many memories. 

They are huge tree flowers and come in White, Pink, Red, Purple, or Yellow blooms. The trees grow quite tall and spread to 40 feet wide! The scent is intoxicating and always reminds me of the South. Magnolias actually grow all across the South and are the state flower of Mississippi as well. They bloom from April till September. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Kentucky State Flower: Goldenrod

Kentucky State Flower Coloring

The Goldenrod flower is atop a plant that is more an herb than a true flower. The flowers are deep Golden Yellow which accounts for their name. 

Goldenrod is native to North America but has been introduced all over the world and it is very popular in Europe. However, the Germans and Chinese consider it an invasive species. 

Fun facts: Goldenrod contains a substance that produces rubber, and Thomas Edison grew very tall Goldenrod and used it to make rubber! Henry Ford used it to make the tires for his Model T car too! 

Also, Goldenrod is not typically allergy producing even though it gets blamed for it. It's not ragweed which is allergenic, but it often grows in proximity so it gets lumped in as a culprit. 

The young leaves are edible. Native Americans used it in Herbal remedies for toothaches. It typically blooms from May till late August, but the blooms last a long time, till October in many cases. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Kansas State Flower: Sunflower

Kansas State Flower Coloring

When I think of Kansas I think of corn as far as the eye can see, taller than most men. My father's family lived there so I spent many Summers visiting my grandmother and cousins and aunts and uncles. They lived in the Southeast corner and we would meander along old tiny roads to see all the cornfields. 

But on the sides of the fields would be giant Sunflowers. They grow very tall also (up to 15 feet!), and the seeds from them make a wonderful snack! 

Sunflowers are Yellow, with a Brown center. Sometimes the outside of the center is Brown with an inner circle of Green. There are a few Sunflowers that are Red, but they are called Sunflowers for a reason! If you want people to recognize your Sunflower color them Yellow. They bloom all during the month of September. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Iowa State Flower: Wild Prairie Rose

Iowa State Flower Coloring

 

Iowa chose the Wild Prairie Rose as its State Flower. Roses are the favorite flower worldwide, and this is one variety of them. They grow all over the central part of the USA. Their colors range from White, to all the shades of Pink (from dark to light,) and there are even some Lavender ones. They do have thorns, like all roses. The stamens are yellow. 

They grow in fields, and along the sides of the roads and their seeds often end up in the seed bags of grains so they proliferate among the buckwheat and corn. They have a lovely scent. They have been used in Herbal medicine since the dawn of time. 

Interestingly, 3 different species of the Prairie Rose grow in the state, and the legislature did not specify which of them was the official State Flower. The one here is the Rosa carolina. It blooms in June for about a month. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Indiana State Flower: Peony

Indiana State Flower Coloring

The Peony is the State Flower of Indiana. Peonies are actually native to China and Japan but grow in the Western United States too. They are used extensively in medicine in China and were known for their healing properties in the Middle Ages in Europe as well. Renoir featured them in some of his paintings.

They are very large flowers that bloom in the late Spring and Summer and are available in a wide variety of colors: Red, Pink, Dark Pink, White, and Yellow.  Their scent is very nice! They are very hardy and the bush that they bloom on can live as long as 50 years!!!

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.

Illinois State Flower: Violet

Illinois State Flower Coloring

Illinois is one of four states that decided on the Violet as their state flower. It's a beautiful flower and ancient too! There are references to Violets in Greek stories from 500 B.C!  

Violets have a lovely scent so easy to see why they are a beloved flower. As their name suggests, many of them are Purple or Lavender in color, but they actually can be White, Yellow, Blue, or Cream colored and some are Blue and Yellow combined. 

They are not the same flower as African Violets by the way. Violets have uses in herbal remedies and the Romans made wine from Violets. The real Violet flowers are large, but after their blooms die, smaller ones spring up closer to the ground. Thus Violets are in bloom for a very long time, from early Spring all the way through Summer. 

Order the State Flowers Coloring Book here by clicking on the Photo.