Rose

• Roses are found in all 50 states.Rose 3 image by Acesse from Fotolia.com
  
  Adopted into law in 1955, the official flower of New York is the rose, wild or cultivated, in all its variety of colors. Popular enough to be designated by President Ronald Reagan on November 20, 1986 as the national floral emblem of the United States, the rose grows in all 50 states.
  
  

Features

• Wild roses typically have five petals.wild rose image by Mirek Hejnicki from Fotolia.com
  
  Roses are perennial flowers that grow as fragrant shrubs or vines belonging to the genus Rosa. Thirty-five varieties of roses are indigenous to the United States. Blooms consisting of just five petals commonly distinguish wild roses from cultivated ones, which tend to have multiple sets of petals.
  
  

Sugar Maple

• Sugar maple in the fall.maple leaf image by Mr. D from Fotolia.com
  
  With their handsome appearance and distinctive leaf shape, sugar maples are among the most easily identifiable trees in the eastern United States. In 1956, the New York legislature declared the sugar maple its state tree. Economically important to the state, sugar maples are prized not only for their hardwood used in furniture and cabinet making, but also as the source of maple syrup.
  
  

Features

• Sugar maple tapped for syrupCollecting the sap from a maple tree image by Rob Hill from Fotolia.com
  
  Growing to heights of over 100 feet, sugar maples are the most abundant species of maples in the northeastern United States and are prized for their brilliantly colored fall foliage. In colder climates where temperatures drop below freezing, sugar maples are an important economic resource as their sap can be tapped for maple syrup. When temperatures rise above freezing, the pressure drops in the tree, causing the sap to flow out of man-made holes where the sap is harvested and then boiled down into maple syrup. Healthy, sustainably tapped trees can produce sap for over 100 years.
  
  

Eastern Bluebird

• Male Eastern BluebirdMale Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) on a stump image by Steve Byland from Fotolia.com
  
  Adopted as the state bird in 1970, the Eastern Bluebird's common call of "chur-lee, chur-lee" won the hearts of New Yorkers. Once common residents of the pre-industrial fields and farms of New York, the Eastern Bluebird faced habitat loss as the state developed in the 1950s. Wishing to preserve the well-being of the state's avian symbol, organizations began to form in the late 1970s to preserve open woodlands and meadows and to educate the public on bluebird conservation.
  
  

Features

• Bluebird boxbirdhouse image by jeanniner9 from Fotolia.com
  
  Primarily found east of the Rockies and ranging from Canada to Mexico, Eastern Bluebirds are much admired for their lovely coloring of sky blue top feathers with a reddish-brown throat and white belly. Bluebirds eat small fruits and insects, often swooping to the ground to pounce on their prey. Preferring to nest in open woodlands or orchards, bluebirds will sometimes nest in specialized boxes designed to mimic their native nesting spots. Pairs mate in spring and summer, with females laying four to five eggs. Both male and female bluebirds assist in caring for their young until they are able to leave the nest.