The West Virginia flag features the state motto "Montani Semper Liberi" (Latin for "Mountaineers Are Always Free"), a wreath of Rhododendron (the state flower), and the state coat-of-arms (also on the state seal).
West Virginia designated the apple as the official state fruit in 1972 and then amended the resolution in 1995 to specify the golden delicious apple. Anderson Mullins discovered this apple variety in Clay County in 1905 ("Clay County Golden Delicious Festival" celebrates the famous fruit annually since 1972). All State Foods
Alaska Day is celebrated on October 18, celebrating the anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory from Russia to the United States, and the raising of the U.S. flag at Sitka in 1867. All State Holidays
West Virginia designated the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) as the official state tree in 1949, after a vote by public school students and civic organizations (also the state tree of New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin). All State Trees
West Virginia designated the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) as the official state reptile in 2008. Timber rattlesnakes are venomous but usually docile unless they are threatened. They can live as long as thirty years and reach five feet in length. The timber rattlesnake is the only species of snake in the state with a segmented rattle at the end of its tail. All State Reptiles
In 2002, after legislators struggled between the lady beetle and the honey bee, West Virginia finally designated the honeybee (Apis mellifer) as the official state insect (West Virginia also recognizes an official state butterfly). All State Insects
West Virginia designated brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) as the official state fish in 1973. Many states recognize a species of trout as a state symbol. All State Fish
Alaska celebrates Seward's Day on the last Monday in March, commemorating the signing of the treaty by which the United States bought Alaska from Russia. All State Holidays
West Virginia designated the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as official state bird in 1949. Six other states recognize the strikingly beautiful northern cardinal as a state symbol (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia). All State Birds
West Virginia designated the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) as the official state butterfly in 1995 (seven states have recognized the monarch butterfly as a state symbol). West Virginia also adopted an official state insect in 2002 (the honeybee). All State Insects