Kansas is known as “The Sunflower State” due to the common wild sunflower and its use as the official state flower. The flower has been important to the region’s residents for thousands of years, and its seeds are used for cooking, baking, and as an alternative to fossil fuels. Kansas has had other nicknames in the past, reflecting its geography and history.
Kansas is believed to have gotten its nickname “The Sunflower State” because the wild sunflower, Helianthus annuus, is common there. The state legislature adopted this flower as the official symbol of the state flowers in 1903. Legend has it that statesman George Morehouse is responsible for designating the sunflower as the official symbol of the state flowers and, by extension, for using The Sunflower State as a nickname for the state. According to this legend, Morehouse became aware of the townspeople’s affinity for the flower when he observed several of them wearing the flowers at an out-of-state event, as a means of identifying with one another. Although The Sunflower State is now considered the official nickname for the state of Kansas, the state has had a number of other nicknames in the past, most of which reflect the state’s geographic location and attributes, or major events in its history.
The wild native sunflower, also known as the common sunflower, is one of the most common indigenous flowers in the state. This may in part be due to the fact that it is grown extensively in residential areas and on farms. These flowers, however, can often be seen growing wild throughout the state and have been an important source of vegetable oil for the region’s residents for thousands of years. Native Americans living in the region now known as Kansas are believed to have been the first to grow these flowers. Their efforts are believed to have helped create sunflowers that produce larger, oilier seeds.
People who live in Kansas are said to believe that the sunflower brings to mind the state’s frontier history and its vast prairies. Sunflower seeds are typically used to make sunflower oil, which is useful for several purposes. Sunflower oil can be used in cooking and baking, and some people use it as an alternative to fossil fuels. The seeds themselves are often eaten on their own as a snack, baked into pastries, or sprinkled on green salads.
Although Kansas’ official nickname is now The Sunflower State, other nicknames predominated in the past and may still be used by some today. Alternatives to ‘The Sunflower State’ include ‘Garden of the West’, ‘The Wheat State’, ‘The Cyclone State’ and ‘The Central State’, thanks to Kansas’ centralized location in the United States. Some older nicknames tend to refer to important periods in Kansas history. “The Grasshopper State,” for example, references the Rocky Mountain locust plague that devastated the state’s crops in 1874.
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