Georgia Symbols, State Bird and Flower

Georgia Symbols, State Bird & State Flower

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Bird

Brown Thrasher

(Toxostoma rufum)

Adopted on April 6, 1935.

On April 6, 1935, the Brown Thrasher was first chosen as the Georgia state bird by official proclamation of the Governor. In 1970, at the request of the Garden Clubs of Georgia, it was designated by the Legislature as the official state bird. The Brown Thrasher is commonly found in the eastern section of the United States, ranging north to Canada and west to the Rockies. The bird migrates to the North in the summer and spends its winters in the Southern states.

Almost a foot in length, the Thrasher has a long, curved bill and a very long tail. It has two prominent white wing bars, a rich brown color on its top side, and a creamy white breast heavily streaked with brown.

Identification

Length: 10 inches

Slender bill with base of lower mandible yellow

Rufous crown, nape and upperparts

Gray face

Yellow eye

White underparts with heavy black streaking

White wing bars

Long rufous tail

Yellow legs

Sexes similar

Most often found in dense vegetation in hedgerows, old fields, and wood edges where it often forages on the ground

With its rufous upperparts and long tail the Brown Thrasher might be confused with the local Long-billed Thrasher (South Texas) but it has a shorter, less decurved bill and a browner face. Thrushes are similar but are spotted below and have shorter tails.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Aves -- birds
Order	Passeriformes -- perching birds
Family	Sturnidae -- starlings
Genus	Toxostoma Wagler, 1831 -- american thrashers
Species	Toxostoma rufum (Linnaeus, 1758) -- brown thrasher, Cuitlacoche rojizo

State Flower

Cherokee Rose

(Rosa laevigata)

Adopted on August 18, 1916.

In 1916, with the support of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs, the Cherokee rose was named the state floral emblem. The name "Cherokee Rose" is a local designation derived from the Cherokee Indians who widely distributed the plant.

Legend of the Cherokee Rose

When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.

Native to China, this rose has naturalized across much of the southeastern United States. This climbing evergreen rose produces long, thorny, vine-like canes that sprawl across adjacent shrubs and other supports. The pure white single flowers appear in spring and are densely arranged along the length of the canes. The plant can reach 10' to 12' in height and 15' or more wide.

Habit: Deciduous

Exposure: Sun to partial shade; range of soil types

Height: 10' to 12' in height and 15' or more wide

Flower/Fruit: 3 to 4" white fragrant flowers in spring

Fragrance: Strong or slight, opinions vary

Georgia General Assembly

FLORAL EMBLEM OF THE STATE.

No. 42

A RESOLUTION.

Whereas, In many of the States of the Union some flower indigenous to the soil of the State has been chosen as an emblem of its sovereignty; and

Whereas, Hitherto the General Assembly of Georgia has made no such selection; and

Whereas, The Cherokee Rose, having its origin among the aborigines of the northern portion of the State of Georgia, is indigenous to its soil, and grows with equal luxuriance in every county of the State,

Be it therefore by the House of Representatives of Georgia, the Senate concurring, resolved, That, at the suggestion and request of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs, the Cherokee Rose be and the same is hereby adopted as and declared to be the floral emblem of the State of Georgia.

Approved August 18, 1916.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons
Subclass	Rosidae
Order	Rosales
Family	Rosaceae Rose family
Genus	Rosa L. rose
Species	Rosa laevigata Michx. Cherokee rose