Minnesota Index: Floral factoids

State flower: The pink and white “showy” lady slipper, Cypripedium reginae

Year it was voted on as state symbol by Minnesota’s women’s organizations in  1892

Number of contenders for the state symbol designation 4

Year it was designated the state flower 1902

Years it takes to produce its first flower 4-16

Length, in years, a pink and white “showy” lady slipper may live 100

Other orchid species in Minnesota           42

Year the regulation of its collection and sale was enacted              1925

Types of flowers in Minnesota that can’t be distributed without written permission and authorization 10

Master Gardeners in Minnesota in 2016                2,336

Volunteer hours provided by master gardeners in 2016 142,194

Estimated public value of that time          $3.6 million

Native flowering plants recommended for landscape use in Minnesota by the Federal Highway Administration  72

Public gardens in Minnesota       45

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum size, in acres  1,200

Display and specialty gardens maintained             32

                Plant collections               48

                Species and varieties of flowers                5,000

Children who participate in programming each year 50,000

Plant introductions from the Horticultural Research Center          150

Books in the Andersen Horticultural Library         20,000

Items in the seed and nursery catalog collection                66,000

Sources: Revisor of Statutes; Legislative Reference Library; Department of Natural Resources; Minnesota Landscape Arboretum; University of Minnesota Extension; University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences; U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration