Maine is nicknamed the Pine Tree State, South Carolina the Palmetto State. Both states depict their state trees on their flags.

   The other state with a strong tree identity is Washington. But Washingtonians don’t celebrate one particular tree. Rather, they celebrate the state’s vast forests with the nickname Evergreen State. This nickname was officially adopted on February 1893. Washington’s flag stands out like a green thumb among other state flags, most of which are dark blue. More recently, Washington adopted an official tartan which employs the color green as a symbol of its forests.

   When the first settlers arrived in what is now Washington, most of it was forested. The major exceptions were mostly in Eastern Washington: the driest steppes, parts of the scab-lands, and grasslands and sage brush of the volcanic Columbia Basin.

   The timber industry soon became the backbone of Washington’s economy. Today, much of Washington’s forest lands have been logged. However, extensive stands of virgin forest remain protected here and there. A single acre of virgin forest is a rarity in some states in the East.

   The most important tree in the Pacific Northwest timber industry is the Douglas fir, which became the state tree of Oregon. In 1946, the Portland Oregonian teased Washington for not having a state tree. The newspaper suggested Washington adopt the western hemlock.

   Washington newspapers selected the popular western red cedar instead. But State Representative George Adams of Mason County pleaded the western hemlock’s case. He said it would become “the backbone of this state’s forest industry.” Adams’ western hemlock bill was signed into law in 1947.

   The western hemlock can grow to more than two hundred feet in height. It is closely related to the smaller eastern hemlock, Pennsylvania’s state tree.