South Dakota’s State Flower

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and the pasque flower burned itself into the hearts of South Dakotans and Manitobans. Some South Dakotans thought the cactus flower should be the state flower. Residents of Rosebud County championed the wild rose, today the official flower of neighboring Iowa and North Dakota, as well as Alberta.

But prairiesmoke, as the pasque flower is nicknamed, won. South Dakota’s original state flower bill described it as “the pasque or wind flower.” It was changed to “pasque flower,” with the scientific name “Anemone patens.” It was then adopted as South Dakota’s state flower on March 5, 1903. In 1919, South Dakota’s state flower law was revised, changing the scientific name to Pulsatilla hirsutissima.

The original state flower bill included the motto “I Lead.” This may have been a reference to the pasque’s reputation as an early bloomer.

The name pasque flower derives from the French Pasque, or “Easter.” It was given this name because the flowers bloom about Easter; the plant’s lavender blossoms are sometimes seen pushing through snow. Other names include Easter flower, May Day flower, wild crocus, and prairie crocus.

Image courtesy
of the Santalady

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