Purple Lilac:
The purple lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is the state flower of New Hampshire. New Hampshire historian Leon Anderson writes in To This Day that the purple lilac was first imported from England and planted at the Portsmouth home of Governor Benning Wentworth in 1750.It was adopted as New Hampshire's flower in 1919. That year bills and amendments were introduced promoting the apple blossom, purple aster, wood lily, Mayflower, goldenrod, wild pasture rose, evening primrose and buttercup as the state flower. A long and lively debate followed regarding the relative merits of each flower. The purple lilac was ultimately chosen, because it "is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State."Return to New Hampshire Unit Study
Courtesy of New Hampshire Almanac
