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The state flower of West Virginia is the Rhododendron maximum, also known as large or laurel laurel. It has white or pale pink flowers and is often confused with other mountain laurels. It blooms in early to late summer and was chosen as the state flower in 1903.
The state flower of West Virginia is the shrub Rhododendron maximum. First introduced to England by John Bartam and Peter Collison in 1736, this type of rhododendron is also called large or laurel laurel. Its flowers are white or pale pink and large in size, even compared to many other types of rhododendron. Since West Virginia is The Mountain State, the official Rhododendron maximum flower is often confused with others due to their common names.
Both Rhododendron catawbiense and Kalmia latifolia are known as mountain laurels. However, it’s the rhododendron top, or great laurel, that is the state flower of West Virginia, not the ones with “mountain” in their common names. To make matters even more confusing, The Mountain State’s official flower also has “laurel” in its common name. In appearance, however, there are more differences than similarities between large and mountain laurels.
Great laurel is larger than mountain laurels and has larger flowers, although all are from the Ericaceae or Heath family. While all three shrubs have attractive dark green leaves, rhododendron maxima are the largest. Rhododendron catawbiense flowers are purple or dark pink rather than white or light pink. Kalmia latifolia flowers can have pink stripes and are quite small in size. The whites or pinks of the West Virginia state flower may have some colored patches of red or yellow.
Rhododendron maximum blooms in early to late summer along the east coast of the United States. It grows best in acidic soil in moist, shady areas. This large laurel or laurel shrub has clusters of showy, fluffy flowers and large, elongated oval leaves. In cold weather, the leaves may roll up to form hollow cylindrical shapes. Rhododendron maximum tends to grow almost like a wall as it can get very dense.
The rose laurel or large laurel was chosen by the legislature as the state flower of West Virginia in January of 1903. The selection was made after a vote by public school students and a recommendation from the governor. House Joint Resolution 19 of 1903 was adopted by the legislature in order to make rhododendron top the official state flower of West Virginia. The resolution cites the reason for choosing the great laurel as the official flower, as well as the governor’s recommendation and student vote, as “…Many of our sister states have adopted a floral emblem.”
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