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North Carolina state symbols

North Carolina has 43 official state symbols. The oldest is the flag of 1885, followed by the motto of 1893; the newest came in a burst in 2013, when the Legislature named a state frog, salamander, marsupial, fossil, art medium and folk art in a single act. Students proposed many of the others, from the Venus flytrap to stock car racing.

43 official designations · every law checked October 23, 2026

Bird, flower and tree

North Carolina chose its flower and bird in the 1940s. The dogwood, which the 1941 act praised for its abundance in every part of the state, came first. The bird took two tries. In 1933 the Legislature made the Carolina chickadee the state bird, then repealed the resolution about a week later, partly because members disliked its nickname, the tomtit. A decade later the North Carolina Bird Club held a statewide poll in which more than 23,000 votes were cast for 26 birds; the cardinal led with about 5,000, and it became the state bird in 1943. The pine followed as state tree in 1963.

Wildlife

The gray squirrel became the state mammal in 1969, after Representative Basil Barr of Ashe County surveyed schoolchildren about their favorite. The red drum, also called channel bass, became the state saltwater fish in 1971, and the eastern box turtle the state reptile in 1979, when a 12-year-old from Cary brought two pet box turtles to the Senate committee hearing. The Plott hound, descended from five hunting dogs that the German immigrant Johannes Plott brought to America in 1750, is the state dog. Students at Shawboro Elementary School in Currituck County asked for the Colonial Spanish Mustang, the breed linked to the wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks, which became the state horse in 2010.

In 2013 the Legislature added several animals at once: the Pine Barrens treefrog and the marbled salamander, chosen in a public poll by the North Carolina Herpetological Society that drew more than 6,000 votes; the Virginia opossum, the only marsupial found north of Mexico; and, as the state fossil, the teeth of the megalodon shark, an idea from an eighth-grade science project at Newport Middle School.

Plants of the Carolinas

The Venus flytrap, the state carnivorous plant since 2005, grows wild only in a small coastal area of the Carolinas, mostly within about 75 miles of Wilmington. The Fraser fir, proposed by eighth graders in Spruce Pine who researched the Christmas tree industry, became the official Christmas tree the same year. The Carolina lily, named for the French botanist André Michaux, became the state wildflower in 2003, after Representative Rex Baker and his wife saved a patch of the lilies from a road-widening project.

Stones and gold

The emerald became the official precious stone in 1973 and granite the state rock in 1979. Gold became the state mineral in 2011, at the request of a fourth-grade class; it recalls North Carolina’s gold rush, which began when 12-year-old Conrad Reed found gold in Cabarrus County in 1799.

Food and drink

The sweet potato became the state vegetable in 1995 after fourth graders in Wilson campaigned for two years; earlier bills had proposed collards or corn. A 2001 law named the scuppernong grape the state fruit and the strawberry and blueberry the state berries. When milk became the state beverage in 1987, a few House members voted “moo.”

Culture

North Carolina’s cultural symbols range widely. The shad boat, a sturdy fishing boat developed around Roanoke Island in the 1870s, is the state historical boat. Clogging is the official folk dance and the shag the official popular dance. The Carolina Tartan became official in 1991, after a representative showed off kilts in it at a committee hearing; South Carolina adopted the same tartan in 2002. Clay, for the state’s pottery tradition, is the official art medium, and the giant scrap-metal whirligigs of Vollis Simpson, who began building them at about age 65, are the state folk art. Students calling themselves the Pit Crew won stock car racing its place as the state sport in 2011, and the bill was signed at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

1 1880s 1 1900s 1 1920s 3 1940s 1 3 1960s 6 4 1980s 2 10 2000s 11 2010s
Official symbols adopted per decade. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with eleven.

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 North Carolina's symbols

What is the North Carolina state bird?
The northern cardinal, adopted in 1943 after a statewide poll by the North Carolina Bird Club.
What is the North Carolina state flower?
The dogwood, adopted in 1941. The flowering dogwood is the species usually pictured.
What is the North Carolina state tree?
The pine, adopted in 1963. Since 2023 the longleaf pine has been named the emblem representing the state's trees.
What is the North Carolina state dog?
The Plott hound, the only recognized dog breed developed in North Carolina. Its foundation stock was five hunting dogs that Johannes Plott brought from Germany in 1750.
Why is the Venus flytrap a North Carolina symbol?
It grows wild only in a small coastal area of the Carolinas, mostly within about 75 miles of Wilmington. It became the state carnivorous plant in 2005, after students at North Stanly High School proposed it.
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