List of North Carolina state symbols

File:Map of USA NC.svg

Location of the state of North Carolina in the United States of America

The state of North Carolina has 42 official state emblems, as well as other designated places and events. The majority is determined by acts of the North Carolina General Assembly and record in Chapters 144, 145, and 149 of the North Carolina General Statutes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The state's nicknames – "The Old North State" and "The Tar Heel State" – are both traditional, but have never been passed into law by the General Assembly.

The first symbol was the Seal of North Carolina, which was made official in 1871. The original seal also contained the future state motto. It served as the state's only emblem for 14 years until the adoption of the state flag in 1885. Enacted by law in 2013, the newest symbols of North Carolina are the state art medium, clay; the state fossil, the megalodon teeth; the state frog, the Pine Barrens tree frog; the state marsupial, the Virginia opossum; and the state salamander, the marbled salamander.

Insignia

Type	Symbol	Year	Image	Source
Flag	"That the flag of North Carolina shall consist of a blue union, containing in the center thereof a white star with the letter N in gilt on the left and the letter C in gilt on the right of said star, the circle containing the same to be one-third the width of the union. The fly of the flag shall consist of two equally proportioned bars; the upper bar to be red, the lower bar to be white; that the length of the bars horizontally shall be equal to the perpendicular length of the union, and the total length of the flag shall be one-third more than its width. That above the star in the center of the union there shall be a gilt scroll in semi-circular form, containing in black letters this inscription 'May 20, 1775,' and that below the star there shall be a similar scroll containing in black letters the inscription: 'April 12, 1776.'"	1885	North Carolina flag	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Motto	Esse quam videri ("To be, rather than to seem")	1893	File:Esse Quam Videri plaque Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.JPG	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Nicknames	Old North State Tar Heel State	Traditional	File:UNC script mark Tar Heels blue.svg	<ref name=NCSOS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Seal	The Seal of North Carolina	1871 (Revised in 1983)	North Carolina state seal	<ref name=NCSOS />

Flora

Type	Symbol	Year	Image	Source
Carnivorous plant	Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula	2005	Venus flytrap	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Christmas tree	Fraser fir Abies fraseri	2005	Fraser fir	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Flower	Flowering dogwood Cornus florida	1941	American dogwood	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Tree	Pine Genus Pinus	1963	Pine	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Wildflower	Carolina lily Lilium michauxii	2003	Carolina lily	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Fauna

Type	Symbol	Year	Image	Source
Bird	Cardinal	1943	File:Cardinal couple - Feb. 2018 (cropped).jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Butterfly	Eastern tiger swallowtail	2012	Eastern tiger swallowtail	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dog	Plott Hound	1989	Plott Hound	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Fossil	Megalodon teeth	2013	File:Carcharocles megalodon (Agassiz, 1837) 2.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Freshwater trout	Southern Appalachian brook trout	2005	brook trout	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Frog	Pine Barrens tree frog Hyla andersonii	2013	Pine Barrens tree frog	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Horse	Colonial Spanish Mustang	2010	File:Wild Horses of the Outer Banks.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Insect	Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)	1973	Western honey bee	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mammal	Eastern gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis	1969	Eastern gray squirrel	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Marsupial	Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana	2013	Virginia opossum	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Reptile	Eastern box turtle	1979	Eastern box turtle	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Salamander	Marbled salamander Ambystoma opacum	2013	Marbled salamander	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Saltwater fish	Channel bass	1971	File:Redfish or Red drum.webp	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Shell	Scotch bonnet	1965	Scotch bonnet	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Geology

Type	Symbol	Year	Image	Source
Mineral	Gold Aurum	2011	File:GoldNuggetUSGOV.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rock	Granite	1979	File:Granite Yosemite P1160483.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Stone	Emerald	1973	File:Gachala Emerald 3526711557 849c4c7367.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Culture

Type	Symbol	Year	Image	Source
Art medium	Clay	2013	File:Potter at his work, with fully done pot.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Beverage	Milk	1987	File:Milk glass.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Birthplace of traditional pottery	Seagrove Area	2005	File:Seagrove NC sign.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Blue berry	Blueberry Vaccinium genus	2001	File:PattsBlueberries.jpg	<ref name=Berry />
Colors	The red and blue of the North Carolina and United States flags	1945	File:Flag of North Carolina.svg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Folk dance	Clogging	2005	File:Clogging 01.jpg	<ref name=Dance>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Fruit	Scuppernong grape Vitis genus	2001	File:Muscadines.Scuppernongs.jpg	<ref name=Berry />
Historical boat	Shad boat	1987	File:Ella View Historic Shad Boat- port bow.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Language	English language	1987		<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Popular dance	Shagging	2005		<ref name=Dance />
Red berry	Strawberry Fragaria genus	2001	File:Strawberry444.jpg	<ref name=Berry>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Song	"The Old North State"	1927	File:The Old North State sheet music.png	<ref name=Song>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Theatre	Flat Rock Playhouse	1961	File:Flat Rock Playhouse is the state theatre of North Carolina 06.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sport	Stock car racing	2011	File:NASCAR practice.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Toast	The Tar Heel Toast	1957	File:North Carolina state toast.jpg	<ref name=Song />
Tartan	Carolina tartan	1991	File:Fort Bragg NC Army National Guard on 25 August 2018 (cropped).jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Vegetable	Sweet potato	1995	File:5aday sweet potato.jpg	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of North Carolina-related topics
• Lists of United States state insignia
• State of North Carolina

References

General

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Specific