Pennsylvania state symbols
Pennsylvania’s state bird is the ruffed grouse (1931), its flower the mountain laurel (1933), its tree the hemlock (1931), and its motto “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence”.
How to read it
Each was adopted by its own short act of the General Assembly. The Act of June 22, 1931, No. 233, adopts “the hemlock tree (Tsuga Canadensis Linnaeus)” as the state tree; the Act of May 5, 1933, No. 107, adopts “the mountain laurel (Kalmia Latifolia)” as the state flower. The motto, “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence”, is festooned below the coat of arms, which Visit PA, the state’s tourism office, and a State Senate history of the flag both trace to a 1778 design by Caleb Lownes of Philadelphia. The tourism office gives the tree’s date as June 23, 1931, a day after the date of the act. The state is known as the Keystone State.
Also searched as: official symbols of pennsylvania, pennsylvania state bird, pennsylvania state flower, pennsylvania state motto, pennsylvania state symbols, pennsylvania state tree.
State bird or state game bird
The act of June 22, 1931, No. 234, is headed “Ruffed grouse adopted as state bird”, but its text adopts the ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) as “the State game bird of Pennsylvania”. The Pennsylvania Game Commission calls it Pennsylvania’s official state bird since 1931, and so does Visit PA.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsRhode Island state symbolsRhode Island’s state bird is the Rhode Island Red, a breed of fowl (1954). Its flower is the violet (1968), its tree the red maple (1964), and its motto is “Hope”.
- The same shape in Asian flagsFlag of Timor-LesteTimor-Leste’s flag is red, with a yellow triangle at the pole reaching to the middle of the flag and a smaller black triangle on it holding a white five-pointed star. The constitution gives the meanings: yellow for the traces of colonialism, black for the obscurantism that must be overcome, red for the struggle for national liberation, and white for peace, the star being the light that guides.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Act of Jun. 22, 1931, P.L. 662, No. 234 (Ruffed grouse adopted as state bird), 1931 Pa. Laws 662, No. 234 (71 P.S.), Pennsylvania General Assembly (Legislative Reference Bureau), Section 1
- Act of Jun. 22, 1931, P.L. 661, No. 233 (Hemlock adopted as state tree), 1931 Pa. Laws 661, No. 233 (71 P.S.), Pennsylvania General Assembly (Legislative Reference Bureau), Section 1
- Act of May 5, 1933, P.L. 457, No. 107 (State flower adopted), 1933 Pa. Laws 457, No. 107 (71 P.S.), Pennsylvania General Assembly (Legislative Reference Bureau), Section 1
- Pennsylvania Facts & History (Visit PA), Visit PA, "Pennsylvania Facts & History", Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (Visit PA), State Motto; The Keystone State; The State Coat of Arms; State Bird; State Tree; State Flower
- Ruffed Grouse species profile (Pennsylvania Game Commission), Pennsylvania Game Commission, "Ruffed Grouse", Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania's Official State Bird
- Pennsylvania’s State Flag (Senate of Pennsylvania), Senate of Pennsylvania (Republican Caucus), "The Pennsylvania State Flag" (#2010, 1/03), Senate of Pennsylvania, Coat of Arms
- State Symbols (PA.gov), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, "State Symbols", pa.gov guide (May 2024 capture), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (pa.gov), State motto; Coat of arms
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research
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