Maryland Symbols. State Flag Black and gold quarters (the arms of Lord Baltimore’s family, the Calverts) along with red and white quarters (the arms of.

Maryland Symbols

State Flag

• Black and gold quarters (the arms of Lord Baltimore’s family, the Calverts) along with red and white quarters (the arms of his mother’s family, the Crosslands)

State Sport• Jousting, which requires horseback riders to spear small, suspended rings• Jousting tournaments have been held in Maryland since early colonial

times but became increasingly popular after the Civil War. Retaining the pageantry and customs of medieval tournaments, modern competitors are called "knights" or "maids", and many dress in colorful costumes. Men, women and children compete equally with skill and horsemanship determining the class.

• Tournaments conducted in Maryland are "ring tournaments" which involve charging a horse at full-gallop through an 80-yard course toward suspended rings. Using a long, fine-tipped lance, the rider has 8 seconds to complete the course and "spear" the rings, scoring points accordingly. From three equally-spaced arches, rings are hung 6 feet 9 inches above the ground and range in diameter from one-quarter inch to nearly two inches depending upon the skill-level of the contestant. A family sport, jousting skills frequently are passed from one generation to the next.

In 2004, Lacrosse was officially named the Team Sport of Maryland. Lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America dating back to the 17th

century. Indians played lacrosse to heal the sick and to prepare for war.

State Dog

• Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a hunting breed with webbed paws and a waterproof coat

• A working dog bred to recover waterfowl for hunters, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever is one of only a few breeds actually developed in the United States. Nonetheless, the history of this dog is unclear. Legend tells of an English vessel shipwrecked off the coast of Maryland in the early nineteenth century. Among the survivors were two young dogs of a Newfoundland breed. Supposedly bred to local coonhounds, they evolved into the present-day Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

State Cat

• Calico, with colors resembling the Maryland flag

• Its colors of orange, black, and white are shared with the Baltimore oriole (State bird) and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly (State insect).Calico is not a breed of cat, but an unusual coloring occurring across many breeds, including Domestic Short-hair, Persian, and Manx.

State Bird

•  Baltimore Oriole, with black and gold coloring

State Flower• Black-eyed Susan, with black and gold coloring

and a blossom of 13 petals• This flower did grow throughout the state and

presented beautiful waves of orange/yellow in fields from late summer to autumn. It also reflected the colors, black and gold, that the first Lord Baltimore used in his coat of arms.

• Today, the black-eyed Susan seems a natural choice; its color blending nicely with the Maryland State Flag, the state bird, the state insect and the state cat.

State Tree

• White Oak• Handsome and sturdy, the white oak is named

for its whitish bark and grey twigs. White Oaks are large, long-lived, and slow-growing trees, reaching heights of 60 to 150 feet, with diameters between 3 to 4 feet. Their glossy, bright green leaves have rounded lobes, five to seven per leaf. The species is found commonly throughout Maryland.

State Fish

• Striped bass, also known as rockfish• The rockfish (Morone saxatilis) was named the

official fish of the State of Maryland in 1965. Originally called Roccus saxatilis, scientists corrected the genus designation in the late 1960s. The rockfish is considered to be the most valuable fish in Maryland waters.

State Insect

• Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly• The Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton) has been the

official arthropodic emblem of the State since 1973. • Like other butterflies, the Baltimore Checkerspot searches for one kind of

host plant from which it will gain nourishment during its period of growth. In this case, the White Turtlehead is the only host plant that this butterfly will use. In wet meadows and ditches, the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly seeks out the Turtlehead, a creamy white pink-rimmed flower of the snapdragon family. Here, it lays eggs on the undersides of the plant's leaves. In summer, the eggs hatch into orange and black caterpillars (larvae) which feed off this host plant.

State Reptile• Diamondback terrapin, also the University of

Maryland College Park mascot• Chesapeake diamondbacks are distinguished by

diamond-shaped, concentric rings on the scutes of their upper shells. They are predators whose preference for unpolluted saltwater make them indicators of healthy marsh and river systems. In winter, they hibernate underwater in mud. Around late May, diamondback terrapin emerge to nest and bask in the sun on coastal dunes or narrow sandy beaches.

 State Crustacean • Maryland blue crab• The blue crab's scientific name translates as

"beautiful swimmer that is savory." Blue crab meat sometimes is compared to the sweetness of lobster meat; the flavor best appreciated by cracking and eating steamed hardshells or feasting on softshells. Crab is prepared in restaurant and home kitchens in innumerable ways, steamed or sauteed, as Maryland Crab Cakes and Crab Imperial, or in crab soup and crab dip.

Resources• http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/00list.html• http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Maryland/MD-state-symbols.html• http://www.mdkidspage.org/StateSymbols.htm• http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/md_symb.htm• http://www.visitmaryland.org/ALLABOUTMD/Pages/StateSigns.aspx