List of Mississippi state symbols

The following is a list of state symbols of the U.S. state of Mississippi, as defined by state statutes in Title 1, Section 3 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 and listed in the Mississippi Official & Statistical Register.[1][2]

Insignia[edit]

Type Symbol Date Image
Flag Flag of Mississippi
2021[3]
Seal Seal of Mississippi 2014[4] Seal of Mississippi
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Mississippi 2001[5] Coat of arms of Mississippi
Motto Virtute et armis (Latin for "By valor and arms")
Nicknames The Magnolia State, The Hospitality State

Flora[edit]

Type Symbol Date Image
Flower Magnolia
Tree Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

Fauna[edit]

Type Symbol Date Image
Bird Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1944[6]
Butterfly Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) 1991[7]
Fish Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) 1974[8]
Fossil Prehistoric whales (Basilosaurus cetoides and Zygorhiza kochii) 1981[9]
Insect Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) 1980[10]
Land Mammals White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) 1974[11][2]
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 1997[2]
Marine mammal Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) 1974[11]
Waterfowl Wood duck (Aix sponsa) 1974[12]
Reptile American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) 1987[13]
Shell Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) 1974

Other[edit]

Type Symbol Date Image
Dance Square dance 1995[14]
Soil Natchez silt loam 2003[15]
Song "Go, Mississippi" 1962[2]
Stone Petrified wood 1976
Toy Teddy bear 2003[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "State of Mississippi Symbols". Mississippi.gov. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "State Symbols" (PDF). Blue Book. Mississippi Secretary of State. 2004. p. 34.
  3. ^ "Mississippi Ballot Measure 3: Voters approve magnolia design as new state flag". CNN. 4 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act". February 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
  5. ^ Clark, Eric. "The Government of Mississippi: How it Functions". Archived from the original on 2021-09-12.
  6. ^ "Mississippi State Bird". Mississippi State Bird: Mockingbird. SHG Resources.
  7. ^ State Symbols Archived 2009-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, p. 4. Office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi. Retrieved 2008-03-29
  8. ^ "State symbols". Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  9. ^ Fossil whale: State Fossil of Mississippi (PDF), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 1991, retrieved 2019-05-09
  10. ^ State Symbols Archived 2009-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, p. 4. Office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi.
  11. ^ a b Shearer, Benjamin F. & Barbara S. Shearer. State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. 235.
  12. ^ "Mississippi State Symbols, Emblems, and Mascots". SHG Resources.
  13. ^ Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (1994). State names, seals, flags, and symbols (2nd ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-28862-3. p. 313
  14. ^ "§ 3-3-39. State dance", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20
  15. ^ "§ 3-3-45. State soil", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20
  16. ^ "§ 3-3-43. State toy", Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated, retrieved 2020-07-20