Rhode Island’s State Tree

Even before the Revolutionary War, majestic white pines had come to symbolize New England. But for the whims of history, our national flag might depict the New England pine, which survives on Maine’s state flag. A pine is also depicted on Vermont’s flag, but Rhode Islanders have a preference for hardwoods, or deciduous trees.

Liberty Trees

Another famous symbol of the Revolutionary War was Rhode Island’s Liberty Tree. This historic tree was a sycamore growing in Newport, Rhode Island. It was designated a “Liberty Tree,” where patriots known as the Sons of Liberty could gather to rally against the hated British Stamp Act.

This first Liberty Tree was cut down while the British occupied Newport. After the war, another Liberty Tree was planted. No one knows what species it was.

This tree was dying as the Civil War approached. In 1876, it was replaced by an oak that didn’t thrive. In 1897, the fourth Liberty Tree was set out. It was a beech, which still stands in Newport’s William Ellery Park.

A State Tree

None of this explains why the red maple was adopted as Rhode Island’s state tree. I’ve never found much information about its adoption.

In the late 1890s, a Rhode Island School Commissioner named Thomas Stockwell organized a vote for a state tree. He wrote down the names of ten popular trees and asked students over ten years of age to vote. The maple barely beat out the elm.

Perhaps it was favored because the name Rhode Island is from the Dutch “red island.” Or maybe it was simply selected because of its beauty.

In the fall, red maple leaves turn gold, purple, and scarlet, adding to the beauty of Rhode Island’s forests. But the red maple was named for the bright red flowers it produces in spring.

Red maples grow from eastern Newfoundland to very near the southern tip of Florida. No other North American tree boasts as great a north-south range.

The red maple faces some stiff competition, between the Liberty Tree and the red maple leaf on Canada’s national flag. That is, the leaf on the flag is red in color. It’s popularly considered a sugar maple, the most popular of state trees.

But the red maple may be the most patient. Rhode Island’s state tree wasn’t officially adopted until 1964, making it one of the last to be adopted.

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