The Georgia Native Plant Society is lobbying for the sweetbay magnolia to be named the state flower for Georgia, replacing the current Cherokee rose.
The Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS) is actively supporting an effort in next year’s General Assembly to change Georgia’s state flower to the native sweetbay magnolia from the non-native invasive Cherokee rose. GNPS encourages all citizens to contact their state legislators and encourage them to support this change.
The sweetbay magnolia is a small, evergreen understory tree with a fragrant and beautiful white flower. It is native to Georgia and can be found growing wild in much of the state. The Legislature must act to change the state flower designation. The current state flower is the Cherokee rose — which was introduced from China in the early 1800s and has since been designated as an invasive pest by the Georgia Invasive Species Council.
Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs) and Senator Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville) plan to introduce the required legislation in each legislative chamber next year. Silcox, a native plant enthusiast, and Williams both recognize the symbolic importance of having the state flower actually be from Georgia.
Silcox says her reasoning for supporting the change is simple: “The Cherokee rose was adopted as the state flower in 1916 under the incorrect assumption that it was native to the state and also a legacy of the Cherokee people — it is neither. Georgia is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world with so many beautiful native flowers. We deserve a state flower from Georgia!”
Invasive species, like the Cherokee rose, create costly control problems for Georgia farmers and homeowners alike.
“Native plants are the keystone for our ecosystem. Loss of native plant habitat is perhaps the biggest cause of species decline today” according to Ellen Honeycutt, board chair of the Georgia Native Plant Society. “Without the native host plants, we don’t have the insects like caterpillars and butterflies that support the birds and all the other animals that are vital to sustaining a balanced ecosystem.”
The sweetbay magnolia is the host plant for the state butterfly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and its flower supports many other pollinators.
While the Cherokee rose is not sold or encouraged as a landscaping plant because of its invasive tendencies, the sweetbay magnolia is widely available and can be planted in all regions of the state.
“It would be great to have a state flower that Georgians can buy from local nurseries and feel good about planting on their property” said Stuart Cofer, owner of Cofer’s Home & Garden Showplace in Athens.
The Cherokee and other native Americans relied on Georgia’s native plants to survive just as the early European colonists did. The myth that the Cherokee rose was special to the Cherokee people was popularized many years after the tribe was forced to leave the state during the infamous Trail of Tears and has no basis in fact. The Georgia Cherokee Community Alliance not only supports removing the Cherokee rose as the state flower but also encourages a native plant that was known by their people for the thousands of years that they lived in Georgia be designated as such.
The Georgia Native Plant Society is encouraging all Georgians to reach out to their local legislators and urge them to support a state flower from Georgia. Additional organizations are also supporting the change including Birds Georgia, the Georgia Cherokee Community Alliance, the Georgia Invasive Species Council, and the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. For more information, visit the Georgia Native Plant Society’s website at gnps.org/advocacy.
