New York state symbols
New York’s state bird is the bluebird (1970), its flower the rose (1955), its tree the sugar maple (1956), and its motto “Excelsior”, “Ever upward” (1778).
How to read it
Article 6 of New York’s State Law names each one: “The bluebird (Sialia Sialis) shall be the official bird”, “The rose shall be the official flower of the state in any color or combination of colors common to it” and “The sugar maple (Acer Saccharum M.) shall be the official tree”. The New York State Library gives the dates: the rose on April 20, 1955, the sugar maple in 1956, and the bluebird on May 18, 1970, when Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed it. New York State Parks gives the same three years. The motto is on the state arms, which the Library and the Department of State date to 1778; “Excelsior” means “Ever upward”. The garnet is the state gem (1969) and the beaver the state animal (1975).
Also searched as: new york state bird, new york state flower, new york state motto, new york state symbols, new york state tree, official symbols of new york.
Two lines under the shield
The State Library describes “Excelsior” alone on the banner. The current text of § 70 of the State Law describes two lines on the scroll below the shield: “Excelsior” on the first and “E pluribus unum” on the second. The Department of State says “E pluribus unum” was added in the enacted budget for fiscal year 2021.
Any rose
The law does not pick a colour or a kind. The State Library describes the state flower as the rose, wild or cultivated, in all its variety and colours.
States with the same tree
The sugar maple is also the state tree of Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsNorth Carolina state symbolsNorth Carolina’s state bird is the cardinal (1943), its flower the dogwood (1941), its tree the pine (1963), and its motto “Esse quam videri”, “to be rather than to seem” (1893).
- The same shape in BPMN symbolsText annotationA note for the reader. A text annotation is an open bracket with text beside it, joined by a dotted line to the part of the diagram it explains; it doesn’t change the process.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- New York State Law § 78, N.Y. State Law § 78, New York State Senate, State Law, Article 6, § 78 State bird
- New York State Law § 75, N.Y. State Law § 75, New York State Senate, State Law, Article 6, § 75 State flower
- New York State Law § 76, N.Y. State Law § 76, New York State Senate, State Law, Article 6, § 76 State tree
- New York State Law § 70, N.Y. State Law § 70, New York State Senate, State Law, Article 6, § 70 Description of the arms of the state and the state flag; Motto
- New York State Law § 77, N.Y. State Law § 77, New York State Senate, State Law, Article 6, § 77 State gem
- New York State Emblems (New York State Library), New York State Library, "New York State Emblems", New York State Library (New York State Education Department), State Bird; State Flag, Seal, and Motto; State Flower; State Gemstone; State Tree
- New York State Emblems (Department of State), New York Department of State, "New York State Emblems", New York Department of State, State Arms; Great Seal
- Symbols of New York State scavenger hunt (New York State Parks), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, "Celebrate the Empire State With the ‘Symbols of New York State’ Scavenger Hunt" (19 September 2025), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bluebird; Sugar Maple; Rose; Beaver
- New York Fun Facts (New York State Assembly), New York State Assembly, "New York Fun Facts" (Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow constituent sheet), New York State Assembly, State Gem
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research
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