West Virginia state symbols
West 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).
How to read it
West Virginia named its bird, flower and tree by resolution of the Legislature. House Joint Resolution 19, adopted on January 29, 1903, made the rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum, the State Museum says) the state flower. On March 7, 1949, the Legislature adopted the cardinal as the state bird and, by House Concurrent Resolution 12, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) as the state tree. The motto is in the constitution of 1872, Article II, § 7: “The present seal of the state, with its motto, ‘Montani Semper Liberi,’ shall be the great seal of the state of West Virginia.” The black bear became the state animal in 1973.
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Chosen by a vote
The 1949 resolution authorised a vote by public school students and civic organisations to choose the tree, the Legislature’s page says. The State Museum says the cardinal, which it calls the northern red cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), won by more than 11,000 votes. The Legislature’s page calls the bird’s resolution “House Resolution 12” in one place and “House Concurrent Resolution 12” in another; the date, March 7, 1949, is the same in both.
States with the same bird
The cardinal is also the state bird of North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. The sugar maple is also the state tree of New York, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsWisconsin state symbolsWisconsin’s state bird is the robin (1949), its flower the wood violet (1949), its tree the sugar maple (1949), and its motto “Forward” (1851).
- The same shape in Army ranksChief warrant officer 5 (W-5)A silver bar with a black line down its centre is the insignia of a chief warrant officer 5 (CW5), the highest warrant officer grade in the US Army, at pay grade W-5.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Constitution of West Virginia, Article II, § 7, W. Va. Const. art. II, § 7, West Virginia Legislature, Art. II, § 2-7
- West Virginia State Symbols (Legislature Kids Page), West Virginia Legislature, Kids Page, "State Symbols", West Virginia Legislature, State Bird; State Tree; State Flower; State Motto; State Animal
- Discover the symbols of the Mountain State (West Virginia State Museum), West Virginia State Museum Education, "State Symbols", West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (West Virginia State Museum), Northern Cardinal; Sugar Maple; Rhododendron; State Motto; Black Bear
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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