The flag, the seal, the flower (violet), the bird (northern cardinal), and the tree (white oak) are some of the main state symbols of Illinois. Citizens, children, and educational institutions often research a particular symbol and request a bill, going through the entire legislative process in the hope that a new state symbol will be enacted and announced for Illinois. Like all other states, Illinois has a lot of symbols. The state bird and flower of Illinois are the violet (viola) and the Norse cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). This cardinal has been the official bird of the state of Illinois since 1929 and also has a population of 120 million.
When an insect visits a milkweed flower to drink nectar, its leg, antennae, or bristles may slip through the slit of the flower where the pollen is stored. As their numbers continue to decline, the number of viable milkweed seeds will also decline, resulting in fewer milkweed plants, fewer milkweed flowers, and less pollen and nectar for pollinators. The cardinal is also the state bird of Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. The color varies depending on the species, but milkweeds can be found with white, pink, red, orange, green, red-violet and purplish-pink flowers.
Be careful if you encounter one of these birds, they are brave and resilient, and will literally throw themselves at their opponents if they feel threatened. Illinois was the first to be part of the 4 eastern states that officially adopted the violet as their state flower. In some species of milkweed the flowers are arranged in a spherical shape, while in other species the flowers are tilted. Illinois was the first of seven states to select the Nordic cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as the state bird.
The symbols of most states show a relevant history, which is indicative of the state and its history, and the state of the Prairies reflects very well its history and what it represents in its state bird and flower. It gets its name “blue stem” because of the flower stalks, which have blue-green stems that turn yellow or bronze in the fall. The reason for the adoption of state flowers was originally inspired by the 1893 World's Fair, which was held in Chicago. Deer, wild turkeys, songbirds, squirrels, and other animals live in or around the white oak tree and feed on its acorns.
