In general, Arkansas’ state symbols are not terribly unique. It shares its state bird and fish, the mockingbird and largemouth bass, with several states in the South. Arkansas’ state mammal is the whitetail deer, which represents at least eight other states, from New Hampshire south to Mississippi and west to Nebraska.
Even worse, Arkansas/Introduction is one of the four “MOAN states” (Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Nebraska) which adopted all four of the most redundant and largely senseless symbols—the introduced honeybee, milk, square dance and English (usually designated the official language).
Arkansas shares its state flower, the apple blossom, with Michigan. Its state tree is the “pine tree,” meaning any pine tree species that grows in Arkansas.
Earth Symbols
What sets Arkansas apart from other states, symbolically, is its official minerals. Quartz represents other states as well, but Arkansas’ quartz is very special.
No other state adopted bauxite. And no other state could justifiably adopt the diamond, because Arkansas is the only state where diamonds are mined.
A diamond is even depicted on Arkansas’ state flag, which can be quartered and reassembled to form a Confederate battle flag.
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