This is a list of symbols of the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The majority of symbols are officially codified in the

Vermont Statutes Annotated The Vermont Statutes Annotated is the official codification of the laws enacted by the General Assembly of the U.S. state of Vermont. Vermont Statutes *Title 1: General Provisions *Title 2: Legislature *Title 3: Executive *Title 3 Appendix: Exe ...

in Title 1, Chapter 11, while others are unofficial. Rotklee Trifolium pratense

Legally recognized symbols include the mineral, flower, bird, beverage, pie, mammal, song, insect, tree, and fish, while unofficial symbols of Vermont include:

maple syrup Maple syrup is a sweet syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Ma ...

; the

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada, west through the Great Lake ...

(''Pinus strobus''), which was worn as a badge by the

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later be ...

and appears on the Vermont coat of arms and Vermont Military Crest; and the

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus''), which also appears on the state's coat of arms. The number 14 figures prominently in the state's history and lore. The

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic, officially known at the time as the State of Vermont, was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The state was founded in January 1777, when delegates from 28 towns met ...

lasted for fourteen years, the pine tree on the Great Seal of Vermont has fourteen branches, the state has fourteen counties, and Vermont was the fourteenth state in the Union. Vermont's

state song A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

is " These Green Mountains", composed by Diane Martin and arranged by Rita Buglass Gluck. This song was officially designated as the state song on 22 May 2000. This song replaced " Hail to Vermont!", which was written by Josephine Hovey-Perry and made the state song in 1938. However, "Moonlight in Vermont" remains an unofficial favorite. The state bird is the

hermit thrush The hermit thrush (''Catharus guttatus'') is a medium-sized North American thrush. Taxonomy It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of ''Catharus'', but rather to the Mexican russet nightingale-thrush. T ...

(''Catharus guttatus''). This was adopted in 1941. The bird was only designated after debate in the legislature; though the hermit thrush is found in all of 14 counties and has a distinctive sweet call, it leaves the state during the winter for its yearly southward migration. Many legislators favored the

blue jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations ar ...

(''Cyanocitta cristata''). The

red clover ''Trifolium pratense'' (from Latin prātum, meaning meadow), red clover, is a herbaceous plant, herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family, Fabaceae. It is native to the Old World, but planted and naturalised in many other regions ...

(''Trifolium pratense'') was designated as the

state flower This is a list of U.S. state, federal district, and territory flowers. See also *List of U.S. state trees * Lists of U.S. state insignia References External linksList of state flowers {{USStateLists * U.S. state flowers Flowers ...

by the Vermont General Assembly in 1895. The red clover is often seen in the countryside of Vermont hosting the

state insect State insects are designated by 48 individual states of the fifty United States. Some states have more than one designated insect, or have multiple categories (e.g., state insect and state butterfly, etc.). Iowa and Michigan are the two states with ...

– the

western honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for 'bee', and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for 'honey-bearing' or 'honey-carrying', ...

(''Apis mellifera''), designated by Act 124 of the 1978 biennial session of the

Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

. A natural companion and frequent visitor to the state flower, the honey bee was chosen for its agricultural benefits, and for being a "social" insect and representing the unity side of Vermont's state motto

Freedom and Unity "Freedom and Unity" is the official motto of the U.S. state of Vermont. The motto was first adopted in 1788 for use on the Great Seal of the Vermont Republic. Ira Allen designed the Vermont seal and is often credited as its author. Allen's 1798 ...

. Vermont named two official

state fish This is a list of official U.S. state fishes: __TOC__ See also * List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insignia * Lists of United States state symbols#Flora and fauna Notes References Netstate.com state fish tables External links ...

Joint Resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the president for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diffe ...

of the

in 1978 and statute in 2011: the cold-water fish, the

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

(''Salvelinus fontinalis'') and the warm-water fish, the

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

(''Sander vitreous vitreous''). The state tree is the

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...

(''Acer saccharum''), effective in 1949. The sugar maple is the source of

, Vermont's most famous export. The state mushroom is the bear's head tooth fungus (''

Hericium americanum ''Hericium americanum'', commonly known as the bear's head tooth fungus is an edible mushroom in the tooth fungus group. It was described as new to science in 1984 by Canadian mycologist James Herbert Ginns. The fungus is commonly found on de ...

''), effective in 2024.

br>H664 2024
!-- Will be at https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/01/011/00520 --> The

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

became the state mammal in 1961. The Morgan horse is a

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a ...

originally from Vermont, and named for

Justin Morgan Justin Morgan (February 28, 1747 – March 22, 1798) was a U.S. horse breeder and composer. He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of ...

. The state maintains standards and develops bloodlines for the breed at the University of Vermont's Morgan Horse Farm at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

. Vermont has also designated an official state

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

(

talc Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, with the chemical formula . Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent and lubricant ...

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

(

apple pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

("Tunbridge Soil Series"),

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

(milk),

gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, an ...

( grossular garnet), and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

(the

beluga Beluga may refer to: Animals *Beluga (sturgeon) * Beluga whale Vehicles * Airbus Beluga, a large transport airplane * Airbus BelugaXL, a larger transport airplane * Beluga-class submarine, a class of Russian SSA diesel-electric submarine * U ...

skeleton at the University of Vermont'
Perkins Geology Museum
. The

state reptile Twenty-eight U.S. states have named an official state reptile. As with other United States state symbols, state symbols, states compare admirable aspects of the reptile and of the state, within designating statutes. Schoolchildren often start c ...

is the

painted turtle The painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in relatively slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown ...

. The state rocks are

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

. Vermont is distinct for being among only three U.S. states with both a state seal and a coat of arms. Vermont is the only U.S. state to have a heraldically correct

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

describing its coat of arms.

Insignia

Nature symbols

References

External links

The Department of Libraries web page on Vermont emblems, facts and figures
* ttps://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/01/011 The Vermont Statutes Online, Title 1: General Provisions, Chapter 11: Flag, Insignia, Seal, Etc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vermont state symbols State symbols