State Flower:

Camellia

On September 6, 1927 the state legislature enacted a law making the Goldenrod Alabama's official State Flower. However on August 26, 1959, the law was amended to read: "The camellia is hereby designated and named as the state flower of Alabama." (Acts 1927, No. 541.) In view of the fact that the act does not specify which camellia, the particular variety cannot be officially designated.

State Bird:

Yellowhammer

Also known as the Flicker, the Yellowhammer was named the official State Bird of Alabama on September 6, 1927. Alabama has been known as the "Yellowhammer State" since the Civil War when a company of Confederate soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama arrived on a Kentucky battlefield wearing bright new uniforms, joining the battle weary soldiers were dressed in faded, worn uniforms. On the sleeves, collars and coattails of the new calvary were bits of brilliant yellow cloth. As the company rode past Company A , Will Arnett cried out in greeting "Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer, flicker, flicker!" The greeting brought a roar of laughter from the men and from that moment the Huntsville soldiers were spoken of as the "Yellowhammer Company." The term quickly spread throughout the Confederate Army and all Alabama troops were subsequently referred to unofficially as the "Yellowhammers." When the Confederate Veterans in Alabama were organized they took pride in being referred to as the "Yellowhammers" and wore a yellowhammer feather in their caps or lapels during reunions.

State Tree:

Southern Longleaf Pine

The official State Tree of Alabama is the Southern Longleaf Pine, found mostly in the lower two thirds of the state. The tree is unique in that its 12-inch-long needles are bundled in threes. Longleaf Pine is peculiar among all trees in that it develops very little above ground during the first one to five years of its life. During this time the top is a dense bunch of green needles, often mistaken for grass. This tree is found on a variety of sites but grows best on well-drained sandy soils. Longleaf Pine can grow to a height of about 150 feet and a diameter of nearly four feet.The Southern Longleaf Pine was specified as the State Tree of Alabama by the legislature in 1997.

State Flag:

This flag is the only state flag that is a perfect square. The red cross is based upon the Confederate Battle flag.

Famous Person:

Helen Keller

"Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it."

She was only a baby when a harsh illness left her deaf, blind and partially mute. In 1886 when she became old enough to go to school, Helen's parents sought counsel from Alexander Graham Bell who recommended Anne Mansfield Sullivan as a tutor, a young girl partially cured of blindness herself and a graduate of Boston's famous Perkins School for the Blind. Within a month, Anne taught Helen names of objects by pressing the alphabet into Helen's hand and later taught her how to speak by feeling the vibrations from the larynx. Under Anne's diligent efforts, Helen learned to read and write in Braille. In 1904 she graduated cum laude from the prestigious Radcliffe College and went on to become a tireless author, educator and lecturer on the subject of aiding the deaf and blind.