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Louisiana state symbols

Louisiana has 44 official state symbols. The oldest by law is the magnolia, adopted in 1900, though the pelican has been on the state seal since the early 1800s; the newest is an official children's Christmas book, "Cajun Night Before Christmas," from 2025. Louisiana's list is full of its Cajun and Creole culture, from gumbo and the Cajun accordion to the pirogue and the fleur-de-lis.

44 official designations · every law checked October 23, 2026

The pelican and the magnolia

Louisiana’s oldest symbols are its pelican and its magnolia. The pelican has appeared on the state seal since soon after statehood, and the brown pelican became the state bird in 1966. The magnolia blossom was chosen as the state flower in 1900 because magnolia trees grow so commonly in Louisiana. The bald cypress, the great tree of the state’s swamps, with its buttressed trunk and woody “knees,” followed in 1963. In 1990 Louisiana added a state wildflower, the Louisiana iris.

Swamp and bayou wildlife

Many symbols come from Louisiana’s wetlands. The American alligator became the state reptile in 1983, in the same act that made the crawfish the state crustacean. The Louisiana black bear, a subspecies that lives in the bottomland forests, became the state mammal in 1992. The green tree frog is the state amphibian, the white perch, known in Cajun French as sac-au-lait, the state freshwater fish, and the spotted seatrout the state saltwater fish. In 2022 the Gulf fritillary, an orange butterfly, became the state butterfly.

A table full of symbols

Louisiana takes its food seriously, and so does its legislature. Gumbo is the official state cuisine, adopted in 2004. The Natchitoches meat pie is the official state meat pie. Mayhaw jelly and Louisiana sugar cane jelly are both official state jellies, named in the same law. The Creole tomato is the state vegetable plant, the sweet potato the state vegetable, the Louisiana strawberry the state fruit, the mayhaw the state fruit tree and, since 2023, the pecan the state nut. Milk is the state drink.

Music, words and art

Louisiana has an unusual number of official songs and poems. “You Are My Sunshine” is the state song. Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights” became the state cultural song in 2021, and “Come Back to Louisiana” the official song for the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006. The Cajun accordion is the state instrument. There is a state painting, a state tartan, a state Senate poem and a state judicial poem, and in 2025 the legislature adopted “Cajun Night Before Christmas” as the official state children’s Christmas book.

Stones from shells

Some of Louisiana’s earth symbols are unusual. The state gemstone is not a mineral at all but a cabochon-cut gem made from the shell of the eastern oyster. Agate found in Louisiana gravel is the state mineral, and petrified palmwood the state fossil.

The main symbols

The flag, the brown pelican and the magnolia each have their own page. Louisiana also has an official pledge to its flag, adopted in 1981.

1 1900s 1 1920s 1940s 1 2 1960s 6 5 1980s 9 10 2000s 3 4 2020s
Official symbols adopted per decade. The busiest decade was the 2000s, with ten.

Flag, seal, song, motto and nickname

Animals

Plants and fungi

Earth and sky

Food and drink

Songs, words and language

Culture and history

Government emblems

Questions about Louisiana's symbols

What is the Louisiana state animal?
Louisiana's state mammal is the Louisiana black bear, adopted in 1992. The state dog is the Catahoula leopard dog, the state reptile the American alligator and the state crustacean the crawfish.
What is Louisiana's official state cuisine?
Gumbo, adopted in 2004.
How many state songs does Louisiana have?
Several. "You Are My Sunshine" is the state song, "Southern Nights" the state cultural song, "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home" the state march, "The Gifts of Earth" the state environmental song, and "Come Back to Louisiana" the song for recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Why does Louisiana have two state jellies?
A 2003 law named both mayhaw jelly, made from the fruit of a small swamp hawthorn, and Louisiana sugar cane jelly as official state jellies.
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