List of Arkansas state symbols
The following is a list of the symbols of the U.S. state of Arkansas.
State symbols
The following state symbols are officially recognized by state law.
- State anthem: "Arkansas" by Eva Ware Barnett, adopted: 1987
- State historical song: "The Arkansas Traveler" by Sanford Faulkner, adopted: 1987
- State motto: Regnat Populus ("The People Rule"), adopted: 1907
- State songs: "Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me)" by Wayland Holyfield and "Oh, Arkansas" by Terry Rose and Gary Klass, adopted: 1987
| Type | Symbol | Year | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| American folk dance | Square dance |
1991 |  |
| Beverage | Milk |
1985 |  |
| Bird | Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos |
1929 |  |
| Butterfly | Diana fritillary butterfly Speyeria diana |
2007 | Diana fritillary |
| Floral emblem | Apple blossom Pyrus malus |
1901 |  |
| Fruit and vegetable | South Arkansas vine ripe pink tomato Solanum lycopersicum |
1987 |  |
| Gem | Diamond |
1967 |  |
| Grain | Rice Oryza sp. |
2007 |  |
| Grape | Cynthiana grape Vitis aestivalis |
2009 |  |
| Historic cooking vessel | Dutch oven |
2001 |  |
| Insects | Honey bee Apis mellifera |
1973 |  |
| Mammal | White-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus |
1993 |  |
| Mineral | Quartz |
1967 |  |
| Musical instrument | Fiddle |
1985 |  |
| Nut | Pecan Carya illinoinensis |
2009 |  |
| Rock | Bauxite |
1967 |  |
| Soil | Stuttgart |
1997 | |
| Tree | Pine tree Pinus taeda |
1939 |  |
Other
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State quarter for Arkansas
Extra info
The designation of a variety of tomato as both the state fruit and the state vegetable is correct. Standing on both sides of the long-running controversy, the law recognizes that the tomato is botanically a fruit, but is a vegetable in culinary use; thus it is officially both in Arkansas.
Though two other songs are designated as "state songs" (plus a "state historical song" which was the state song from 1949 to 1963), by state law the Secretary of State must respond to any requests for "the state song" with the music of the state anthem, "Arkansas"; it was the state song before 1949 and from 1963 to 1987, when it became state anthem and the other songs gained their present status. This is strictly to preserve the status of "Arkansas"; all four songs are either copyrighted by the state itself or in the public domain.
