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Mississippi State Symbols

Welcome to the Magnolia State! In fact, the magnolia serves as Mississippi’s state flower and tree both. For good measure, a magnolia blossom is depicted on the new state flag. (Continued below)

Mississippi State Flag
Nicknames & Slogans
Nicknames The Magnolia State, Bayou State, Mud-cat State
Symbols of State
Motto Virtute et Armis 1894
Song Go, Mississippi 1962
EcoSymbols
Flower magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) 1952
Wildflower Coreopsis 1991
Tree magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) 1938
Bird mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1944
Waterfowl wood duck (Aix sponsa) 1974
Land Mammal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) 1974
Land Mammal red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 1997
Water Mammal bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) 1974
Reptile American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) 2005
Fish largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) 1974
Insect honeybee (Apis mellifera) Redundant Symbol 1980
Butterfly spicebush swallowtail (Battus philenor) 1991
Shell oyster shell (Crassostrea virginica) 1974
Gemstone Mississippi opal 2023
Stone petrified wood (Plantae) 1976
Fossil † prehistoric whales Basilosaurus cetoides and Zygorhiza kochii 1981
Soil Natchez Silt Loam 2003
Cultural Symbols
Toy Teddy Bear 2002
Natural Science Museum The Mississippi Game and Fish Commission’s Mississippi Museum of Natural Science 1974
Wildlife Heritage Museum Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Museum in Leland 2016
Historical Industrial Museum The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, Inc, 2004
Automobile Museum The Tupelo Auto Museum, Inc, 2003
Beverage milk Redundant Symbol 1984
American Folk Dance square dance Redundant Symbol 1995
Grand Opera House Grand Opera House of Meridian 1993
Flag Salute 1972
Language English Redundant Symbol 1987

Unfortunately, Mississippians don’t know how to design flags. Why in the world did they put the motto “In God We Trust” on their flag?

From the mockingbird to the largemouth bass, most of Mississippi’s state symbols are shared with other states. Its most unique symbols may be the prehistoric whales that were designated the state fossil.

One of Mississippi’s most familiar symbols is the Teddy bear. Surprisingly, it may be a little more conspiratorial than you think.

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If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.

You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)

After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.

Mississippi Symbols Store
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