Perhaps hoping to settle the state flower question once and for all, Alabama lawmakers designated a second flower symbol on June 1, 1999. They named the oak-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) the official wildflower. The legislation says, “Specimens of the state flower and wildflower shall be deposited in the Auburn University Herbarium.”
This medium-size (six to eight feet tall) deciduous shrub grows throughout Alabama. William Bartram was the first to notice it (in the 1770s) and gave it its scientific name. (Quercifolia means oak-leaf.)
Large spikes of white blooms above large green oak-shaped leaves in April and May. In summer, these blossoms turn a deep rose color and persist into the winter. The leaves turn red in the fall, and its beauty is accented by the peeling bark of the stems and branches.
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