~The Natural State~......CONNECTICUT

[olena]

State Flower

Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia


Description Evergreen, many-stemmed, thicket-forming shrub or sometimes a small tree with short, crooked trunk; stout, spreading branches; a compact, rounded crown; and beautiful, large, pink flower clusters.
Height: 20' (6 m).
Diameter: 6" (15 cm).
Leaves: evergreen; alternate or sometimes opposite or in 3's; 2 1/2-4" (6-10 cm) long, 1-1 1/2" (2.5-4 cm) wide. Narrowly elliptical or lance-shaped; hard whitish point at tip; without teeth; thick and stiff. Dull dark green above, yellow-green beneath.
Bark: dark reddish-brown; thin, fissured into long narrow ridges and shredding.
Twigs: reddish-green with sticky hairs when young; later turning reddish-brown, peeling, and exposing darker layer beneath.
Flowers: 3/4-1" (2-2.5 cm) wide; saucer-shaped, with 5-lobed pink or white corolla with purple lines, from pointed deep pink buds; on long stalks covered with sticky hairs; in upright branched flat clusters 4-5" (10-13 cm) wide; in spring.
Fruit: 1/4" (6 mm) wide; a rounded dark brown capsule; with long threadlike style at tip; covered with sticky hairs; 5-celled, splitting open along 5 lines; many tiny seeds; maturing in autumn and remaining attached.
Habitat Dry or moist acid soils; in understory of mixed forests on upland mountain slopes and in valleys; also in shrub thickets called "heath balds" or "laurel slicks."
Range SE. Maine south to N. Florida, west to Louisiana, and north to Indiana; to 4000' (1219 m), higher in southern Appalachians.
Discussion Mountain Laurel is one of the most beautiful native flowering shrubs and is well displayed as an ornamental in many parks. The stamens of the flowers have an odd, springlike mechanism which spreads pollen when tripped by a bee. The wood has been used for tool handles and turnery, and the burls, or hard knotlike growths, for briar tobacco pipes. Linnaeus named this genus for his student Peter Kalm (1716-79), a Swedish botanist who traveled in Canada and the eastern United States.

 

[olena]

State Insect

Praying Mantis
Mantis religiosa


Description 2-2 1/2" (50-65 mm), including wings, which extend beyond abdominal tip. Green to tan. Compound eyes tan to chocolate-brown, darker at night. Fore coxae bear black-ringed spot beneath, which is lacking in the Chinese Mantis and Carolina Mantis.
Food Diurnal insects, including caterpillars, flies, butterflies, bees, and some moths.
Life Cycle Eggs overwinter in flat mass attached to exposed twigs above snow. They hatch almost simultaneously in late spring. Nymphs are dispersed by wind or eat one another. Survivors are solitary. 1 generation matures in late summer or early autumn.
Habitat Meadows, on foliage and flowers.
Range Eastern United States into Ontario.
Discussion This mantid was accidentally introduced in 1899 on nursery stock from southern Europe. At a time when Gypsy Moth Caterpillars were burgeoning in the eastern states, it was recognized almost immediately as a beneficial predator. However, mantids are so cannibalistic that they are rarely numerous enough to have much effect in depleting caterpillar populations.

 

[olena]

State Shellfish

Oyster Shell
(Crassostrea virginica)
Description 2-8" (5.1-20.3 cm) long. Large, irregularly and broadly ovate to elongate, usually thick-shelled, narrowed at upper end; right valve flatter than left valve. Exterior grayish or yellowish-white, sometimes rayed with reddish-purple; smoothish except for irregular wrinkles and growth lines, or with several radial ridges, especially on lower half; often with strong, platelike growth ridges. Interior white, with oval muscle scar near hind margin, scar usually popular; ligament large; margin smooth, gray.
Habitat On hard or soft bottom, in water 10-40' (3-12 m) deep, especially in areas of low salinity.
Range Gulf of St. Lawrence to Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies.
Discussion This is the common edible oyster of the Atlantic Coast. The principal fisheries are in the Middle Atlantic area; from these more than half the oysters in the United States are harvested. The eggs of this and the Giant Pacific Oyster are fertilized and develop in the water outside the parents. An unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce this species to the Pacific Coast.

 

[olena]

State Bird

American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Description 9-11" (23-28 cm). Gray above, brick red below. Head and tail black in males, dull gray in females. Young birds are spotted below.
Voice Song is a series of rich caroling notes, rising and falling in pitch: cheer-up, cheerily, cheer-up, cheerily.
Habitat Towns, gardens, open woodlands, and agricultural land.
Nesting 3-5 blue-green eggs in a well-made cup of mud reinforced with grass and twigs, lined with softer grasses, and placed in a tree or on a ledge or windowsill. Robins usually have 2 broods a season.
Range Breeds from Alaska east across continent to Newfoundland and south to California, Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina. Winters north to British Columbia and Newfoundland.
Discussion Robins originally nested in forests; where they still do so they are much shyer than the robins of the dooryard. They breed only rarely in the Deep South, where they prefer large shade trees on lawns. Although considered a harbinger of spring, robins often winter in the northern states, where they frequent cedar bogs and swamps and are not usually noticed by a casual observer, except when they gather in large roosts, often containing thousands of birds. The mainstay of the American Robin is earthworms. It hunts on lawns, standing stock-still with head cocked to one side as though listening for its prey but actually discovering it by sight.

 

[olena]

State Animal

Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus

Description To 69' (21 m). Head huge, one-quarter to one-third length; dark brownish gray, skin appears corrugated or shriveled; sometimes belly and front of head grayish and mouth area white. Snout blunt, squarish, projects far beyond lower jaw tip. Single blowhole well to left of midline and far forward on head; small bushy "spout" emerges forward at sharp angle. Row of large teeth on each side of lower jaw, small teeth buried in upper jaw. Distinct dorsal hump two-thirds of way back from snout tip, followed by series of crenulations or bumps. Ventral keel present. Flukes broad, triangular, not concave, deeply notched on rear edges.
Endangered Status The Sperm Whale is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in North Carolina. Like so many whale species, this giant owes its endangered status to hunting. It was especially prized for two substances, spermaceti, a wax that was used in cosmetics and other products, and ambergris, a wax-like material found in the digestive tract (probably produced during the digestion of squid) that was used in perfume manufacturing. The Sperm Whale seems to have recovered somewhat from its earlier depletion and is thought to be the most abundant of the great whales.
Similar Species Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) has obvious mottling.
Habitat Mostly in temperate and tropical oceans; rarely at depths less than 100 fathoms and along edge of continental shelf.
[/b]Range[/b] In Atlantic from David Straits to Venezuela, including Gulf of Mexico. In Pacific from Bering Sea to equator.
Discussion This species can be identified by its distinctive spout. It feeds primarily on squids (including giant species), but may also eat a variety of fishes. The scientific name P. catodon has often been changed to P. macrocephalus in recent literature. These whales, also called Cachalot, were hunted extensively; the forehead contains spermaceti and a fine grade of oil, and the teeth were favored material for scrimshaw, the ivory objects carved by sailors and artisans. It was the search for an albino Sperm Whale that inspired the novel Moby Dick, but today individuals of over 50' (15.2 m) are rare. These whales produce offspring about every 4 years, after a gestation period of about 16 months. Like all other cetaceans, they are usually born tail first; this prevents the calf from drowning during birth.

 

[olena]

State Tree

White Oak
Quercus alba
Northern White Oak, Stave Oak

Description The classic eastern oak, with widespreading branches and a rounded crown, the trunk irregularly divided into spreading, often horizontal, stout branches.
Height: 80-100' (24-30 cm) or more.
Diameter: 3-4' (0.9-1.2 m) or more.
Leaves: 4-9" (10-23 cm) long, 2-4" (5-10 cm) wide. Elliptical; 5- to 9-lobed; widest beyond middle and tapering to base; hairless. Bright green above, whitish or gray-green beneath; turning red or brown in fall, often remaining attached in winter.
Bark: light gray; shallowly fissured into long broad scaly plates or ridges, often loose.
Acorns: 3/8-1 1/4" (1-3 cm) long; egg-shaped; about 1/4 enclosed by shallow cup; becoming light gray; with warty, finely hairy scales; maturing first year.
Habitat Moist well-drained uplands and lowlands, often in pure stands.
Range S. Ontario and extreme S. Quebec east to Maine, south to N. Florida, west to E. Texas, and north to E. central Minnesota; to 5500' (1676 m), or above in southern Appalachians.
Discussion The most important lumber tree of the white oak group, its high-grade wood is useful for all purposes. It is sometimes called "Stave Oak" because the wood is outstanding in making tight barrels for whiskey and other liquids. In colonial times the wood was important in shipbuilding.

Previous Natural States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia


Previous Natural Provinces
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec

 

[Snowwark]

I think some of the Buds have Mountain Laurel, at least I seem to recall a few of them mentioning it before.

I've never seen a Praying Mantis, and I know they're our garden "friends", but that strange little triangular face kind of freaks me out!!

Thank you, Heather! A great job, as always!!

 

[olena]

We have them.

In southern Mississippi, they can get as long as your forearm.

 

[amid chaos]

A beautiful state, Olena..thanks for the information.

We have the mantis' here too! they are creepy looking things.