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State Flowers

State Flower of Iowa

Flower: Wild Prairie Rose (Genus Rosa)

On May 5, 1897, a resolution was introduced to adopt the wild rose as Iowa’s state flower. It was noted that the wild rose was engraved on the silver service presented to the battleship USS Iowa. But the proposal was rejected. Some people complained that no one had consulted Iowa’s women.

By chance, the State Federation of Women’s Clubs was meeting in Des Moines (Iowa’s capital). Lawmakers contacted them and asked their opinion. The women held a vote and said the wild rose was just fine. And so the wild rose became Iowa’s state flower.