South Carolina State Symbols: Every Official One

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South Carolina has 64 official state symbols and designations on this list, each with its section of the South Carolina Code of Laws where the Code lists it. Names and years are copied from the statute text, not from secondary summaries.

Symbols64with code sections
SourceSC CodeTitle 1, Chapter 1
CheckedOct 262026
NicknamePalmetto Statesee page

Every Official Symbol

Symbol	Name	Code section	Year	Source
State Gem Stone	Amethyst	1-1-610	1969	source
State Seabird	Eastern brown pelican	1-1-612	2024	source
State Migratory Bird	Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)	1-1-613	2026	source
State Choral Anthem	Dum Spiro Spero (While we Breathe, we Hope)	1-1-614	2026	source
State Stone	Blue granite	1-1-620	1969	source
State Reptile	Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)	1-1-625	1988	source
State Bird	Carolina Wren	1-1-630	1948	source
State Wild Game Bird	South Carolina Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo)	1-1-635	1976	source
State Fish	Striped bass or rockfish	1-1-640	1972	source
State Insect	Carolina mantid, Stagmomantis carolina, or praying mantis	1-1-645	1988	source
State Butterfly	Tiger swallowtail	1-1-647	1994	source
State Animal	White-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus)	1-1-650	1972	source
State Dog	Boykin Spaniel	1-1-655	1985	source
State Tree	Palmetto tree	1-1-660	1939	source
State Carnivorous Plant	Venus flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula)	1-1-661	2023	source
State Dance	Shag	1-1-665	1984	source
State Waltz	The Richardson Waltz	1-1-667	2000	source
State Pecan Festival	South Carolina Pecan Festival, Florence County	1-1-674	2011	source
State Botanical Garden	Botanical Garden of Clemson University	1-1-675	1992	source
State Lowcountry Handcraft	Sweet grass basket	1-1-676	2006	source
State Grass	Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)	1-1-677	2001	source
State Fruit	Peach	1-1-680	1984	source
State Vegetable	Collard greens	1-1-681	2011	source
State Snack Food	Boiled peanuts	1-1-682	2006	source
State Picnic Cuisine	Barbecue	1-1-683	2014	source
State Song	South Carolina On My Mind	1-1-685	1984	source
State Poultry Festival	South Carolina Poultry Festival, Lexington County	1-1-686	2024	source
State Song	Carolina When we Die (by Patrick Davis)	1-1-687	2026	source
State Music	The spiritual	1-1-688	1999	source
State Popular Music	Beach music	1-1-689	2001	source
State Beverage	Milk	1-1-690	1984	source
State Fossil	Columbian Mammoth	1-1-691	2014	source
State Hospitality Beverage	South Carolina grown tea	1-1-692	1995	source
State Opera	Porgy and Bess	1-1-693	2001	source
State Tobacco Museum	South Carolina Tobacco Museum	1-1-694	2004	source
State Shell	Lettered Olive (Oliva sayana)	1-1-695	1984	source
State Language	English	1-1-696	1987	source
State Amphibian	Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)	1-1-699	1999	source
State American Folk Dance	Square dance	1-1-700	1994	source
State Spider	Carolina Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis)	1-1-701	2000	source
State Tapestry	From the Mountains to the Sea	1-1-702	2000	source
State Tartan	Carolina Tartan	1-1-703	2002	source
State Wildflower	Goldenrod (solidago altissima)	1-1-704	2003	source
State Railroad Museum	South Carolina Railroad Museum, Fairfield County	1-1-705	1997	source
State Military Academy	Camden Military Academy	1-1-706	2001	source
State Hall of Fame	South Carolina Hall of Fame, Myrtle Beach Convention Center	1-1-707	2001	source
State Folk Art and Crafts Center	South Carolina Artisans Center, Walterboro	1-1-708	2000	source
State Rural Drama Theater	Abbeville Opera House	1-1-709	2001	source
State Color	Indigo blue	1-1-710	2008	source
State Duck	Wood duck (Aix sponsa)	1-1-711	2009	source
State Marine Mammal	Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)	1-1-712	2009	source
State Migratory Marine Mammal	Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)	1-1-713	2009	source
State Emblem of Service and Sacrifice (U.S. Armed Forces who gave their lives in the line of duty)	Honor and Remember Flag	1-1-713A	2012	source
State Heritage Horse	Marsh Tacky	1-1-714	2010	source
State Heritage Work Animal	Mule	1-1-714A	2010	source
State Flower	Yellow Jessamine	See source	1924	source
State Song	Carolina (poem by Henry Timrod, music by Anne C. Burgess)	See source	1911	source
State Poet Laureate	Office of Poet Laureate	1-3-230	1934	source
State Flag	Blue field with white palmetto tree and crescent	See source	1861	source
Great Seal	Great Seal of South Carolina	See source	1777	source
State Motto (1 of 2)	Animis Opibusque Parati	See source	1777	source
State Motto (2 of 2)	Dum Spiro Spero	See source	1777	source
State Nickname	The Palmetto State	See source		source
Pledge to State Flag	'we salute the flag of South Carolina and pledge to the Palmetto State love, loyalty and faith.'	1-1-670	1966	source

More State Facts

South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution on May 23, 1788, becoming the eighth state to enter the country. source
On December 20, 1860, the 169 delegates present at the South Carolina state convention in Charleston voted unanimously to secede from the Union (convention had relocated to Charleston because of a smallpox outbreak). source
SC Dept of Archives and History quick facts: capital Columbia; 46 counties; Eastern Time. source

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

Code of Laws section for State Flower (Yellow Jessamine, 1924) not found in Title 1 Chapter 1 or Chapter 3; only the SC State House Student Connection page states it.
Code of Laws section describing State flag design and Great Seal not found at scstatehouse.gov (searched t01c001, t01c003); flag and seal text comes from SC State House Student Connection. unofficial summary showed bills (S.101 of 2021, H.3727 of 2023) proposing section 1-1-671 for the flag; enactment not checked.
Statutory flag display/desecration section numbers (school display, $100 fine / 30 days) not located; the Student Connection page summarizes them without citing sections.
State song 'Carolina' (1911 Concurrent Resolution) has no Code section found.
Secession date is from the South Carolina Encyclopedia (University of South Carolina), not SC Dept of Archives and History, whose read page did not mention secession.
Years: where the Code HISTORY line lists several acts or only a Code citation, the year given is the designating act named on the SC State House Student Connection page; see year_note.

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina State Symbols”, itssouthcarolina.com/things-to-do/south-carolina-state-symbols/ (updated 2026-10-26). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.