The sweet potato – the versatile veggie you can eat plain, put in a casserole or bake in a pie – is poised to get a new title.
The Alabama House voted 94-4 yesterday to designate the sweet potato as Alabama’s official state vegetable. The measure had already passed the Senate and is headed to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
Alabama ranks sixth in the country in the production of sweet potatoes with the crop bringing in some $9 million every year, the House bill noted.
The idea for a state vegetable came from a group of North Alabama homeschool students who, while researching state history, came across the fact Alabama did not have an official vegetable. They decided to write to their legislators and, despite a COVID-related delay, were successful in their efforts to have the vegetable they selected – the sweet potato – given the statewide honor.
The sweet potato joins a long list of Alabama’s official emblems, symbols and honors, including:
- Bird – Yellowhammer
- Salt water fish – Fighting tarpon
- Flower – Camellia
- Mineral – Hematite (Red Iron Ore)
- Rock – Marble
- Horse – Racking Horse
- Freshwater Fish – Largemouth bass
- Game Bird – Wild Turkey
- Nut – Pecan
- Mascot and butterfly – Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Insect – Monarch Butterfly
- Reptile – Alabama Red-bellied Turtle
- Gemstone – Blue Star Quartz
- Barbecue championship – Demopolis Christmas on the River Cook-Off
- Horseshoe tournament – Stockton Fall Horseshoe Tournament
- Outdoor Musical Drama – “The Incident at Looney’s Tavern.”
- Tree – Southern Longleaf Pine
- Soil – Bama Soil Series
- Quilt – Pine Burr Quilt
- Wildflower – Oak-leaf Hydrangea
- Amphibian – Red Hills salamander
- Fruit – Blackberry
- Spirit – Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey
- Mammal – Black Bear
- Tree Fruit – Peach
- Crustacean – Brown Shrimp
April 15, 2021 at 12:00PM
https://ift.tt/3tnORM1
Alabama is about to have a new state vegetable: The sweet potato - AL.com
https://ift.tt/2rh4zOj
Potato
No comments:
Post a Comment