Theories/Speculation

• Although the state flower of Mississippi was not officially decided until 1952, it was back in 1900 when the idea was put into place to have the magnolia as the official state flower. It has been said that this idea was inspired by the adoption of a National Garland of Flowers, which decorated the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Although that may or may not have been true, we do know that around the turn of the century, the idea of having a state flower for Mississippi took place.
  
  

History

• The original idea was to select a floral emblem that represented the state well. However, instead of choosing one, the state decided to let the schoolchildren of Mississippi vote for the flower. In November of 1900, the vote took place at all the schools in the state. It is recorded that an amazing 23,278 children voted in total. In over half of those votes, the magnolia blossom was chosen as the winner. The cotton blossom and the Cape jasmine came in second and third but did not have nearly the votes that magnolia did. In fact, there were a total of 42 flowers that were voted for by the children. Even though the legislature knew and asked for the vote, they still did not make it official, although all the residents of the state already considered it to be their state flower.
  
  

Significance

• Magnolia tree
  
  It was 35 years later that the director of Forestry decided to initiate a movement to adopt an official state tree that represented the state. Again, the nomination was offered to the children, although this time they got to choose from only four different trees. The trees were the magnolia tree, the oak tree, the pine tree and the dogwood. Again, the magnolia tree was an overwhelming winner, and in 1938 it was made the official state tree of Mississippi. But yet there still was no official state flower.
  
  

Time Frame

• It wasn't until February 26, 1952, that the magnolia flower, or the Magnolia grandiflora, as it is known by its proper name, was finally approved by the legislature, 52 years after it was first chosen. In case you are wondering, the magnolia flower does come from the magnolia tree, which is why it is so hard to believe that the state would vote one into legislation but not the other.
  
  

Features

• The magnolia tree has large, fragrant white flowers that smell as good as they look. The evergreen leaves decorate it well and make it one of the most wonderful of the forest trees and an extremely popular ornamental plant. It can be found all over the coastal plains of the southeastern United States. The pleasant fragrance is one that you definitely can appreciate, and the flowers themselves are gorgeous to look at. It most certainly does its job well as the state flower of Mississippi.