Pasque flower, the state flower of South Dakota

How to recognize it

The pasque flower is a low perennial, about 2 to 18 inches tall, growing from a thick rootstock, with stems and leaves covered in long, silky hairs. Each stalk carries a single cup-shaped flower 1.5 to 3 inches across. What look like petals are actually five to seven pointed sepals, blue-violet to white, around a ring of yellow stamens. The basal leaves are deeply cut into many narrow segments and mostly appear after flowering, while a whorl of three similar leaves sits just below the flower.

It is one of the first prairie flowers of spring, blooming between late March and early June, with the flower stems coming up as the snow melts.

Where it grows

The pasque flower is native to the lower 48 states, Alaska and Canada. In South Dakota it grows on open prairie across the state, usually in scattered clumps on dry, south-facing slopes with sandy soil.

Where to see it

Look on undisturbed hillsides in early spring, roughly late March to early June. Travel South Dakota points to the Black Hills National Forest and Wind Cave National Park as reliable places. South Dakota State University describes it as easy to grow and not aggressive, a good choice for early-spring gardens.

“I Lead”

South Dakota’s flower is unusual in having its own motto. The law that made it the state flower in 1903 paired it with the words “I Lead,” for its habit of blooming before almost anything else on the prairie, and the secretary of state, who also calls it the May Day flower, says it is the only state floral emblem with a motto. Older laws use the scientific name Pulsatilla hirsutissima. South Dakota has no separate state wildflower.