SC recently declared an official state carnivorous plant — yes, you read that right. Here’s why

Did you know that the South Carolina state fruit is a peach? Or that tea is the official state “hospitality beverage?” The amethyst is the state gem, Indigo blue is the state color and the Yellow Jessamine is the state flower.

Most recently, the Legislature passed Senate bill 581 into law this year, designating the Venus flytrap the state’s official carnivorous plant. Yes, South Carolina now has an official state carnivorous plant. (Sorry to all the, um, unofficial carnivorous plants that didn’t make the cut.) Here’s why this curious designation was made and a look at what other symbols our state officially recognizes.

Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, the Venus flytrap bill’s primary sponsor, said he usually doesn’t focus on legislation for state symbolic bills. However, the uniqueness of the Venus flytrap and its relation to South Carolina was hard to ignore, and he was surprised at how specific the plant is to South Carolina.

Venus flytraps only exist in the wild in two places on earth: South Carolina and North Carolina. In Horry County, the plant thrives under protection, but it is little known to residents of the state.

“It truly is unique to South Carolina,” Hembree said. “They’re really interesting and curious plants.”

In addition to bringing awareness to the state’s connection to the plant, Hembree said it would be interesting for children to study in school.

Hembree said lawmakers try to resist bringing legislation like symbols into session because it can be ridiculous at times, adding they are usually focused on more substantial work. However, when the opportunity presented itself, Hembree said it was worth sharing why the Venus flytrap is important.

The idea came from someone from Horry County, where the Venus flytrap grows. “His passion was contagious,” Hembree said, and he even went out to see where the plant was growing.

South Carolina has a variety of other state symbols, ranging from flowers to foods and songs. Here are a few:

State beverage: Milk. Dairy farmers are found in almost every county in the state.

State snack: Boiled peanuts. South Carolinians started boiling peanuts in the late 1800s.

State dance: The shag. The shag is often danced to beach music, another Carolina icon.

State fossil: Columbian Mammoth. The discovery of fossilized mammoth teeth in 1725 in a South Carolina swamp was the first scientific identification of a vertebrate fossil from North America.

State stone: Blue Granite. South Carolina is one of the biggest producers of blue granite in the U.S. Granite is actually gray, but it can produce a blue hue.

State spider: Carolina Wolf Spider. Typically measuring around 3 to 4 inches long, it is the largest species of wolf spider in North America.

State tree: You probably already guessed it — the Palmetto, or officially, the Sabal palm. The tree is symbolic of the defeat of the British fleet at Fort Moultrie in the Revolutionary War. Our state is nicknamed the “Palmetto State,” and the state flag bears the Palmetto’s likeness, making the tree arguably the most well-known state symbol.