Official State Trees of All 50 U.S. States

The Sugar Maple is the most shared state tree, representing New York, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin — all adopted between 1949 and 1956. The sugar maple produces the sap for maple syrup, and Vermont alone generates over 50 percent of all U.S. maple syrup. In autumn, sugar maples create the blazing orange and red foliage that draws millions of 'leaf peepers' to New England every year. Rhode Island chose the related Red Maple.

Oak species collectively represent more states than any other genus. Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland all chose the White Oak — a massive, slow-growing hardwood that can live over 500 years. Some famous White Oaks include Connecticut's Charter Oak, where colonists allegedly hid their charter from the British in 1687. New Jersey selected the Northern Red Oak, and Georgia chose the Southern Live Oak, an iconic tree draped in Spanish moss along the coastal South.

Iowa is the only state to designate the entire genus 'Oak' rather than a specific species, giving it the broadest state tree designation. Ohio's Buckeye tree connects directly to the state nickname — 'The Buckeye State' — and Buckeye nuts are carried as good luck charms throughout Ohio. The Ohio State University mascot, Brutus Buckeye, keeps the tradition alive. The same civic tradition that produced state tree designations also gave every state an avian symbol — browse the state birds list with pictures to see each state's bird alongside its tree.

California's Coast Redwood holds the record as the tallest tree species on Earth. The tallest known individual, named Hyperion, stands 380.3 feet in Redwood National Park — taller than the Statue of Liberty. Redwoods can live over 2,000 years, and their bark is naturally fire-resistant and can be a foot thick. California designated the redwood in 1937, and the species is now the centerpiece of several national and state parks.

Utah's Quaking Aspen, adopted in 2014, connects to one of biology's most remarkable organisms. A single aspen grove called 'Pando' in Fishlake National Forest is considered the heaviest known organism on Earth — a clonal colony of roughly 47,000 genetically identical trunks connected by a shared root system, weighing an estimated 13 million pounds and spanning 106 acres. Scientists believe Pando may be tens of thousands of years old.

Louisiana's Bald Cypress can live well over 1,000 years. In 2019, researchers discovered submerged bald cypress stumps in an Alabama river that were over 60,000 years old — predating the last Ice Age. The bald cypress is one of the few deciduous conifers (it drops its needles in fall despite being a cone-bearing tree), and its distinctive 'knees' rising from swamp water are an iconic Southern image.

Texas designated the Pecan in 1919, making it one of the earliest state tree adoptions. Governor James Hogg supposedly requested that a pecan tree be planted on his grave instead of a monument. Pecans are native to the river valleys of Texas and have been a food source for over 8,000 years. Today Texas is the second-largest pecan-producing state after Georgia, and pecan pie is practically the state dessert.

South Carolina's Palmetto is so central to the state's identity that it appears on the flag, the state seal, and the nickname ('The Palmetto State'). During the Revolutionary War, a fort built from spongy palmetto logs on Sullivan's Island absorbed British cannonballs without breaking — a key early American victory. The palmetto became a symbol of resilience, and the story is commemorated every June 28 on Carolina Day.

Hawaii's Kukui (Candlenut) was one of the 'canoe plants' brought to the islands by Polynesian voyagers over 1,000 years ago. Native Hawaiians burned the oily nuts in stone lamps for light (kukui means 'light' in Hawaiian), pressed the oil for waterproofing canoes, and used the shells in lei making. The tree's silvery-green foliage makes it easy to spot against the darker tropical canopy.

The American Elm (Massachusetts and North Dakota) has suffered catastrophically from Dutch Elm Disease, a fungal infection spread by bark beetles. First detected in the U.S. in 1930, the disease has killed tens of millions of elms — including many of the stately trees that once lined streets across the Northeast and Midwest. Disease-resistant cultivars have been developed, but the species has never recovered its former abundance.

Pennsylvania's Eastern Hemlock faces a slow-motion crisis from the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive insect from Asia that sucks sap from hemlock needles. The pest has killed hemlocks across much of their range in the Eastern U.S. since arriving in the 1950s. Entire hemlock forests in the Appalachian Mountains have been lost, affecting stream ecosystems that depended on the trees' dense shade to keep water cool for trout.

Idaho's Western White Pine once dominated the forests of the Northern Rockies, but white pine blister rust (another introduced disease) has reduced populations by over 90 percent since the early 1900s. Alabama's Longleaf Pine ecosystem — one of the most biodiverse in North America — has been reduced to roughly 3 percent of its original extent due to logging, conversion to faster-growing pine plantations, and fire suppression. Restoration efforts are underway in both cases.

Pine family (Pinaceae) dominates with 16 state trees: 10 pines (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina), 3 spruces (Alaska, Colorado, South Dakota), 2 hemlocks (Pennsylvania, Washington), and 1 Douglas Fir (Oregon — technically not a true fir despite its name).

Hardwoods are well represented through oaks (6 states), maples (5 states), and the tulip tree (3 states under different common names). The Cottonwood appears in three states: Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Two states chose dogwoods (Missouri, Virginia), two chose palmettos (Florida, South Carolina), and two designated elms (Massachusetts, North Dakota).

Several trees are unique selections found nowhere else on the list. Arizona's Palo Verde ('green stick' in Spanish) is a desert tree with green bark that photosynthesizes even without leaves. Oklahoma's Redbud blooms brilliant magenta-pink across the state each spring before its leaves appear. Delaware's American Holly is an evergreen with bright red berries that has long been associated with holiday decorating. Curious how state floral symbols compare? Browse the list of state flowers for all 50 official flowers with pictures.