Cherokee rose on carpet and seats in Senate gallery. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Native plant enthusiasts have been working to bring more attention to Georgia’s indigenous flora for years.
In recent legislative sessions, advocates have pushed to change the state flower listed in Georgia code from the invasive Cherokee rose to the native sweetbay magnolia.
The Cherokee rose, native to southern China, was brought to the United States shores during the colonial era for decorative purposes. The native sweetbay magnolia proves its usefulness by supporting the state butterfly, the Tiger Swallowtail.
Advocates who are trying to raise awareness of the importance of native plants in Georgia’s environment say making the sweetbay magnolia the state flower – officially, the state floral emblem – would help their cause.
“If you look at the sheer number of beautiful and beneficial native flowers that we have, to even contemplate at all that we need to go get a state flower from China, is kind of mind-boggling,” said Michael Cowan, vice chair of the Georgia Native Plant Society.
Last year, Milledgeville Republican Sen. Rick Williams sponsored Senate Bill 518, a bill aimed at changing Georgia’s state flower to the sweetbay magnolia, to no avail. This year, Sandy Springs Republican Rep. Deborah Silcox proposed House Bill 145, reviving the effort to make the switch.
The current state flower is still beloved by some powerful legislators. Sen. Matt Brass, chairman of the influential Senate Rules Committee, is against changing a state symbol that he argues is already ingrained into Georgia’s history, as well as incorporated into the state Capitol’s public spaces.
“You’re changing way more than just a name,” Brass said. “If you’re going to change something that’s been around for so long, there needs to be some good reason, and I haven’t heard any great reasons.”
Brass said he also has a personal connection to the Cherokee rose.
“I had a family member that at one time had the state song, named after the Cherokee Rose,” he said.
The invasive flower was chosen in 1916 by the General Assembly to represent the forced removal of the Cherokee people from Georgia through the Trail of Tears in the 1800s.
Today, the inside of the Georgia Capitol building is decorated with symbols of the Cherokee rose. The carpet of the Senate floor, the wooden door frames of some rooms and the frames for several portraits of previous state leaders lining the halls of the building feature engravings and patterns of the Cherokee rose.
“What it symbolized 100 years ago doesn’t mean it has to symbolize the same thing today,” Brass said.
Tony Harris, vice president of the Georgia Cherokee Community Alliance, said the invasive rose wasn’t significant to the Cherokee nation.
“It has no relationship or history in our culture,” Harris said. “Before the Trail of Tears, they had farms. They had fruits, vegetables, orchards and animals. But what they didn’t have was the Cherokee rose.”
Silcox said she proposed House Bill 444 after receiving pushback from lawmakers who were reluctant to change the state flower. This compromise bill sought to designate April as Georgia Native Plant Month. Williams sponsored Senate Bill 240, a bill with an identical goal.
Williams’ version passed unanimously through the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environment in late February, but it ultimately did not make it through by the March 6 Crossover Day deadline, when a bill must clear at least one chamber to have a smooth path to the governor’s desk. Neither did Silcox’s bill.
With ample support from Georgians to bring awareness to the ecological importance of native plants, it’s likely the legislation will be revisited. Designating April as Georgia Native Plant Month would allow the native flora of Georgia to be recognized, without removing the Cherokee rose as the state flower, supporters of the compromise say.
“In having this compromise, we’ll be recognizing all native plants of Georgia, not just one,” Williams said.
Although the effort to change the state flower appears to have fallen short this year, Cowan enthusiastically supports designating a month to honor Georgia’s native plants.
“A lot of people don’t realize that the southeast United States and Georgia in particular is really one of the most biodiverse areas in the world,” Cowan said. “All these animals, insects and plants have evolved together over millions of years to interact.”
Cowan said that indigenous plants benefit the Georgia ecosystem in many ways, including supporting pollinators. And native plants are more resilient to destructive events like wildfires, Silcox said.
“With all the lumber we have sitting around in south Georgia right now because of [Hurricane Helene] I think it’s more important than ever that we plant native plants to protect the land from wildfires,” Silcox said.
For people interested in learning about Georgia’s native plants, the Cherokee Garden at Green Meadows Preserve in Cobb County features native plants used by the Cherokee people for medicinal, ceremonial and culinary purposes prior to the Trail of Tears. The garden features the sweetbay magnolia, but not the Cherokee rose. The park is open seven days a week, free of charge.
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