| Provincial Flowers Under Construction |
An editorial that appeared in the June 2, 1926 issue of the Edmonton Journal started Albertans to thinking about an official flower. The Women’s Institutes of the province then proposed to the Department of Education that children be allowed to vote on a flower.
The children chose the wild rose by a wide margin over the tiger lily. The rose was adopted on March 21, 1930 as Alberta’s official flower.
Wild roses grow in Alberta’s mountains, as well as its grasslands. Various wild rose species also represent several states, including the prairie states North Dakota and Iowa.
Few provinces or states honor their official flowers as do Albertans. Alberta’s rose is depicted on its coat of arms, which appears on the provincial flag, and on another flag flown by the province’s French-speaking population. The rose is also depicted on the provincial mace, and it is represented by the color pink on the official Alberta tartan.
Another Albertan floral symbol is the fleur de lis, or white lily. It appears on Alberta’s Francophone flag as a symbol of France.
The blossom of the dogwood was considered a symbol of British Columbia before it was officially adopted. During World War II, the sale of dogwood lapel pins earned money to purchase wool and other comforts for British Columbian soldiers. It was finally officially adopted as British Columbia’s official flower in 1956.
It’s easy to see why the dogwood is so popular. The enormous white blossoms growing on twenty- to forty-foot trees are a spectacular sight. Other species of dogwoods have been adopted as official trees or flowers by Virginia, North Carolina, and Missouri. New Jersey chose a dogwood as its official “memorial tree.”
Dogwood blossoms are depicted on British Columbia’s coat of arms and on a flag flown by franco-Columbians, or French-speaking residents.
Prairie Crocus, or Pasque Flower(Anemone patens) |
In 1906, the Manitoba Natural History Society asked the government to adopt an official flower. They had already taken a vote in Manitoban schools to select a candidate. The prairie lily received 514 votes, the wild rose 606 votes, and the “prairie crocus” 674. On March 16, the crocus was coronated as Manitoba’s official flower.
This member of the crowsfoot family has been given numerous names over the years. “Prairiesmoke” is among the more romantic. In 1903, it was adopted by South Dakota as the pasqueflower. Pasque is French for “Easter,” about the time the flowers bloom. The blossoms are often seen pushing through snow.
Years ago, many Manitobans wore crocus blossoms on Crocus Day. But no more; the plant is too rare.
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