New Hampshire state symbols
New Hampshire’s state bird is the purple finch (1957), its flower the purple lilac (1919), its tree the white birch (1947), and its motto “Live Free or Die” (1945).
How to read it
Chapter 3 of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes names each with the year of its law: “The purple lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is the state flower” (1919), “The white birch tree, Betula papyrifera, is the state tree” (1947) and “The purple finch is hereby designated as the official state bird” (1957). The motto law of 1945 credits the words to their author: “The words ‘Live Free or Die,’ written by General John Stark, July 31, 1809, shall be the official motto of the state.” The New Hampshire Almanac, on the state’s website, gives Stark’s whole toast as “Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst of Evils.” The state wildflower, since 1991, is the pink lady’s slipper (Cypripedium acaule).
Also searched as: new hampshire state bird, new hampshire state flower, new hampshire state motto, new hampshire state symbols, new hampshire state tree, official symbols of new hampshire.
The finch and the hen
The Almanac says the purple finch “toppled the one-time sturdy New Hampshire hen” in the 1957 Legislature, and that Governor Lane Dwinell signed it into law on April 25. The white birch had an easier time: it passed the 1947 Legislature without argument or opposition. The lilac is older in the state than its law: the Almanac says it was first imported from England and planted at Governor Benning Wentworth’s home in Portsmouth in 1750.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsNew Jersey state symbolsNew Jersey’s state bird is the eastern goldfinch (1935), its flower the violet (1971), its tree the red oak (1950), and its motto “Liberty and Prosperity”, which the state has not officially adopted.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of ZimbabweZimbabwe’s flag has seven stripes, green, gold, red and black at the centre, and a white triangle at the pole with a red star and the gold Zimbabwe Bird. The government says green is vegetation and agriculture, gold the mineral wealth, red the blood shed in the liberation war, black the black majority, the white triangle peace and the red star the nation’s aspirations; the bird is the national emblem.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- New Hampshire RSA 3:5, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:5, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:5 State Flower; Source note
- New Hampshire RSA 3:6, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:6, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:6 State Tree; Source note
- New Hampshire RSA 3:8, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:8, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:8 State Motto; Source note
- New Hampshire RSA 3:10, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:10, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:10 State Bird; Source note
- New Hampshire RSA 3:17, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:17, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:17 State Wildflower; Source note
- New Hampshire RSA 3:7, N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 3:7, New Hampshire General Court, RSA 3:7 State Songs; Source note
- State Bird, New Hampshire Almanac, State of New Hampshire, NH Almanac, "State Bird", State of New Hampshire (NH.gov, New Hampshire Almanac), State Bird page
- State Tree, New Hampshire Almanac, State of New Hampshire, NH Almanac, "State Tree", State of New Hampshire (NH.gov, New Hampshire Almanac), State Tree page
- State Flower, New Hampshire Almanac, State of New Hampshire, NH Almanac, "State Flower", State of New Hampshire (NH.gov, New Hampshire Almanac), State Flower page
- State Emblem and Motto, New Hampshire Almanac, State of New Hampshire, NH Almanac, "State Emblem", State of New Hampshire (NH.gov, New Hampshire Almanac), State Motto section
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
Added .