Maine state symbols
Maine’s state bird is the chickadee, its state flower the white pine cone and tassel, its state tree the white pine and its motto “Dirigo” (“I direct” or “I guide”).
How to read it
Maine’s laws name each symbol in a single line. The bird law says only “the chickadee”; the Maine Secretary of State identifies it as the black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus) and dates it to the Legislature of 1927. The motto is the oldest: “Dirigo” is on the state seal, whose design the Legislature adopted on 9 June 1820, less than three months after Maine became a state.
Also searched as: maine state bird, maine state flower, maine state motto, maine state symbols, maine state tree.
Maine’s symbols and when each was adopted
| Symbol | Official choice | Adopted | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird | Chickadee (black-capped chickadee) | 1927 | 1 MRSA § 209 |
| Flower | White pine cone and tassel (Pinus strobus) | 1895 | 1 MRSA § 211 |
| Tree | White pine | 1945 | 1 MRSA § 208 |
| Motto | “Dirigo” | 1820, on the state seal | 1 MRSA § 205 |
| Animal | Moose | 1979 | 1 MRSA § 215 |
| Cat | Maine coon cat | 1985 | 1 MRSA § 217 |
A state flower that is a pine cone
Maine’s floral emblem is not a flower: the law makes it “the pine cone and tassel”, Maine’s place “in the national garland of flowers”. The Secretary of State names it as the cone and tassel of the white pine, so the state flower (1895) and the state tree (1945) come from the same species, 50 years apart.
What “Dirigo” means
The motto law translates “Dirigo” as “I direct or I guide”. The Secretary of State’s page on the seal translates it as “I lead”.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsMassachusetts state symbolsThe state bird of Massachusetts is the black-capped chickadee, its state flower the mayflower, its state tree the American elm and its motto “Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem” (“By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty”).
- The same shape in Road signsAdded lane signA yellow diamond with a line joining alongside another, both carrying on. It warns that traffic from another road enters in its own new lane.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves.
Sources
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 9, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 9: Seal, Motto, Emblems and Flags, Maine Legislature (Office of the Revisor of Statutes), 1 MRSA §§ 205, 208, 209, 211, 215, 217
- State Bird (Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page), State Bird - Chickadee, Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page, Maine Secretary of State, State Bird - Chickadee
- State Flower (Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page), State Flower - White Pine and White Pine Cone & Tassel, Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page, Maine Secretary of State, State Flower - White Pine and White Pine Cone & Tassel
- State Seal (Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page), State Seal, Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page, Maine Secretary of State, State Seal
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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