Washington state symbols
Washington’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.
How to read it
Chapter 1.20 of the Revised Code of Washington names the symbols. The western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) was designated in 1947 and the willow goldfinch in 1951. The flower is named only by its species: “The native species, Rhododendron macrophyllum, is hereby designated as the official flower”, a law first passed in 1949 and amended in 1959; the Legislature’s booklet calls it the coast rhododendron and gives 1959 as the year. The state song is “Washington My Home” by Helen Davis, adopted in 1959. The nickname “The Evergreen State” has not been officially adopted, the Legislature says.
Also searched as: official symbols of washington, washington state bird, washington state flower, washington state motto, washington state symbols, washington state tree.
A motto without a law
The Legislature lists “Al-ki” or “Alki” as an unofficial territorial motto, “the Chinook term meaning ‘bye and bye’”. Its web page says the word first appeared on the territorial seal designed by Lt. J. K. Duncan of Governor Stevens’ surveying expedition. No section of chapter 1.20 makes it, or anything else, the state motto.
The flower women chose
The Legislature and the Secretary of State both say Washington women chose the rhododendron as the state flower in 1892, before they had the right to vote. The Legislature acted on it in 1949 and 1959.
The bird the schoolchildren chose
The Legislature’s booklet says that in 1928 legislators let schoolchildren select the state bird; the willow goldfinch was made official in 1951.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsWest Virginia state symbolsWest Virginia’s state bird is the cardinal (1949), its flower the rhododendron (1903), its tree the sugar maple (1949), and its motto “Montani semper liberi”, “Mountaineers are always free” (1872).
- The same shape in North and Central American flagsFlag of BarbadosBarbados’s flag has three equal vertical bands, ultramarine, gold and ultramarine, with a black trident head in the centre. The Parliament of Barbados says the blue is the sea and sky and the gold the sand of the beaches; the trident is the sea god Neptune’s, from the old colonial seal, and its shaft is broken for Barbados’s break with its ties as a former colony.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- RCW 1.20.040 State bird, Rev. Code Wash. § 1.20.040, Washington State Legislature (Office of the Code Reviser), RCW 1.20.040
- RCW 1.20.030 State flower, Rev. Code Wash. § 1.20.030, Washington State Legislature (Office of the Code Reviser), RCW 1.20.030
- RCW 1.20.020 State tree, Rev. Code Wash. § 1.20.020, Washington State Legislature (Office of the Code Reviser), RCW 1.20.020
- RCW 1.20.070 State song, Rev. Code Wash. § 1.20.070, Washington State Legislature (Office of the Code Reviser), RCW 1.20.070
- Symbols of Washington (2025 Legislature state symbols booklet), Washington State Legislature, "Symbols of Washington" (2025), Washington State Legislature, Flower; Tree; Bird; Song; Territorial motto; Nickname
- Washington State Territorial motto (Legislature web page), Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Territorial motto: Al-ki or Alki", Washington State Legislature, "Al-ki" or "Alki"
- Simply Washington 2020, Washington Secretary of State, Simply Washington (2020), "State Symbols", Washington Office of the Secretary of State, State Symbols: Bird, Flower, Tree
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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