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Vermont state symbols

Vermont has 31 official state symbols, almost all in Chapter 11 of Title 1 of the Vermont Statutes. The oldest are the seal of 1779 and the red clover, the state flower since 1894; the newest is the bear's head tooth mushroom of 2024. Vermont has several unusual entries, including three state rocks, two state fossils that are specific museum specimens, and an official state flavor, maple.

31 official designations · every law checked October 23, 2026

Clover, thrush and maple

Vermont’s natural symbols began with the red clover, named the state flower in 1894 as a nod to the state’s farming and dairy heritage. The hermit thrush became the state bird in 1941 and the sugar maple the state tree in 1949. In 1994 Vermont tied two symbols together, naming maple, from the Vermont sugar maple, the official state flavor.

Animals

The Morgan horse became the state animal in 1961, and the honeybee the state insect in 1978. The monarch became the state butterfly in 1987, the northern leopard frog the state amphibian in 1998, and the painted turtle, praised as hardy in cold weather and colored like the state’s fall foliage, the state reptile in 1994 after students in Cornwall pushed for it. In 2012 Vermont named two state fish, the brook trout for cold water and the walleye for warm water. Randall Lineback cattle are the state heritage livestock breed.

Rocks, gems and fossils

A single 1992 act named the state gem, grossular garnet, the state mineral, talc, and three state rocks, marble, granite and slate. Vermont’s two state fossils are specific specimens: the fossilized white whale skeleton at the University of Vermont, named the state marine fossil in 1993, and the Mount Holly mammoth tooth and tusk, kept at the Mount Holly Community Historical Museum, named the state terrestrial fossil in 2014. The Tunbridge series became the state soil in 1985.

Food and drink

Milk became the state beverage in 1983. A 1999 law named the apple the state fruit and apple pie the state pie. The Gilfeather turnip, a white-fleshed cross between a turnip and a rutabaga developed by John Gilfeather in Wardsboro around 1902 and known for a sweet taste after hard frost, became the state vegetable in 2016; Gilfeather reportedly trimmed the tops and roots off the turnips he sold so buyers could not grow their own. In 2024, after students at Compass School and Windham Elementary School researched the choice, the bear’s head tooth mushroom, edible, native and with no toxic look-alikes, became the state mushroom, making Vermont the sixth state with one.

Sports and pastimes

Skiing and snowboarding became the state winter sports in 2012, and the Governor Aiken bucktail streamer the state fly-fishing fly in 2014.

1 1770s 1800s 1830s 1860s 1 1890s 1 1920s 2 1950s 1 1 3 1980s 9 2 7 2010s 1 2020s
Official symbols adopted per decade. The busiest decade was the 1990s, with nine.

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 Vermont's symbols

What is the Vermont state bird?
The hermit thrush, adopted in 1941.
What is the Vermont state flavor?
Maple, specifically maple from the Vermont sugar maple tree, adopted in 1994.
What is the Vermont state animal?
The Morgan horse, adopted in 1961.
What are Vermont's state rocks?
Vermont has three, marble, granite and slate, all named in 1992. Talc is the state mineral and grossular garnet the state gem.
What is the Gilfeather turnip?
Vermont's state vegetable since 2016, a white-fleshed cross between a turnip and a rutabaga developed by John Gilfeather on his farm in Wardsboro and known for a sweet taste after hard frost.
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