Virginia state symbols
Virginia’s state bird is the northern cardinal (1950), its flower and its tree are both the American dogwood, and its motto is “Sic semper tyrannis”, “Thus always to tyrants” (1776).
How to read it
Code of Virginia § 1-510 lists the official emblems, and gives the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as the bird and the American Dogwood (Cornus florida) as both the flower and the tree, so one species is both the state flower and the state tree. The state dog is the American foxhound. The motto is on the great seal: § 1-500 places “the motto, ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’” on a curved line below the figures. The Secretary of the Commonwealth says the Virginia Convention adopted the great seal on July 5, 1776, and gives the motto’s translation, “Thus Always to Tyrants”. The General Assembly’s booklet on the emblems dates the cardinal to 1950.
Also searched as: official symbols of virginia, virginia state bird, virginia state flower, virginia state motto, virginia state symbols, virginia state tree.
When the dogwood was adopted
The dogwood was adopted twice, once as the flower and once as the tree. The General Assembly’s Capitol Classroom booklet dates the two adoptions to 1918 and 1956, but it is not consistent about which was which: its list puts the tree at 1918 and the flower at 1956, and its text says lawmakers chose the dogwood as the state flower in 1956. The Code itself gives no year for either.
States with the same bird
The cardinal is also the state bird of North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsWashington state symbolsWashington’s state bird is the willow goldfinch (1951), its flower the coast rhododendron (1959), and its tree the western hemlock (1947). It has no official motto; “Al-ki”, on the territorial seal, is unofficial.
- The same shape in Dashboard warning lightsFront fog light indicatorA green light that shows the front fog lights are on.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Code of Virginia § 1-510. Official emblems and designations, Va. Code Ann. § 1-510, Virginia General Assembly, Division of Legislative Automated Systems (Virginia Law / LIS), § 1-510, entries Bird, Flower, Tree; history note
- Code of Virginia § 1-500. The great seal, Va. Code Ann. § 1-500, Virginia General Assembly, Division of Legislative Automated Systems (Virginia Law / LIS), § 1-500
- Emblems of the Commonwealth of Virginia (Capitol Classroom publication), Virginia General Assembly, Capitol Classroom, "Emblems of the Commonwealth of Virginia" (publication 329), Virginia General Assembly (House of Delegates Clerk's Office, Capitol Classroom), Entries Motto, Tree, Flower, Bird
- Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth 2008-2009, Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia, 2008-2009, "History of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth", Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, History of the Great Seal; Facts on Virginia
- State Symbols, Seals and Emblems (Virginia Is For Lovers), Virginia Tourism Corporation, "State Symbols, Seals and Emblems", Virginia Tourism Corporation, State symbols list; Seal
- Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia (Encyclopedia Virginia), Encyclopedia Virginia, "Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia", Virginia Humanities (Encyclopedia Virginia), Entry text
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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