State
Bird
Mockingbird
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The
mockingbird is found throughout North America. It is about 10 or 11
inches tall with an ashen gray back. The wings are dark with white
tips. They build nests in thickets, low trees, or bushes. Mockingbirds
have a melodious song but can also copy the songs of other birds.
They eat insects, snails, small snakes, lizards, and wild fruit.
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State
Flower
Iris
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There
are hundreds of varieties of irises. They can grow all over North
America in meadows, marshes and stream banks in wet, sandy soil.
The size of the iris plant ranges from five inches to five feet.
The size of the iris flower ranges from two and half inches to four
inches wide. It blooms from early spring to late summer. The word
iris comes from the Greek word for "rainbow," and you can find irises
that are blue, yellow, orange, and purple. The purple iris was chosen
as Tennessee's state flower because the Nashville Iris Association
campaigned for it. It was adopted as the Tennessee state flower
in 1973.
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State
Tree
Tulip-poplar
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The
Tulip Poplar is also called the Yellow Poplar. It is found in eastern
North America and usually grows up to 100 feet in the wild, but it
can reach 200 feet in size. The flowers are beautiful but are high
in the tree, which makes them hard to see. The flowers look like tulips.
They have greenish-yellow petals, and their insides are an orange
color. The bark is brownish-gray, and the wood is used for lumber.
The wide leaves of this tree turn yellow in the fall. The Yellow Poplar
was adopted as Tennessee's state tree in 1947.
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State Flag
Click
on flag to view
larger image.
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The
Tennessee flag was adopted in 1905. It was designed by LeRoy Reeves.
He was part of the Third Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry. He chose
the red background with the thin white and blue stripes along the
right side. The three colors and the three stars in the center represent
the three regions of the state of Tennessee known as East, Middle,
and West Tennessee. These three regions have very different kinds
of landforms. East Tennessee has the Great Smoky Mountains and other
mountains that are part of the Appalachian Mountains. Some of these
mountains are 6,000 feet above sea level. Middle Tennessee includes
the Highland Rim and the Central Basin. This is a very hilly area
with heights of only about 400 to 1,000 feet above sea level. West
Tennessee is very different. The land there is flatter near the Mississippi
River. This region is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The people of
these three regions have had very different cultures, but the white
ring on the state flag shows their unity.
The three stars on the flag have other meanings too. One is to show
that Tennessee was the third state to join the Union after the original
13 colonies. This made Tennessee the
16th state. Another possible meaning for the three stars is to represent
three Presidents who lived in Tennessee. They are Andrew Jackson,
James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson.
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