STATE FLOWER
Pennsylvania's State Flower: Mountain Laurel
Pennsylvania named the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) its official state flower in 1933, sharing the choice with neighboring Connecticut.
A Shared Appalachian Symbol
Mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub in the same plant family as blueberries, admired chiefly for the cup-shaped clusters of pink-to-white flowers it produces each late spring. Its natural range spans much of the Appalachian region, which is why both Pennsylvania and Connecticut settled on the same striking bloom as their floral emblem.
QUICK FACT
Mountain laurel keeps its glossy dark green leaves through the winter, making it a valued year-round landscape shrub, not just a spring bloomer.
