Great Seal of the State of Florida | |
---|---|
Versions | |
Armiger | State of Florida |
Adopted | 1985 |
Motto | In God We Trust |
Earlier version(s) | |
Use | Former Floridian state seal, used until 1985. |
The Great Seal of the State of Florida is used to represent the government of the state of Florida, and for various official purposes, such as to seal official documents and legislation. It is commonly used on state government buildings, vehicles, and other effects of the state government. It also appears on the state flag of Florida. The University of Florida was granted the right to use the seal to represent the university.
The seal features a shoreline on which a Seminole woman is spreading flowers. Legend says that the woman is the historical heroine Milly Francis, but there is no documentation supporting this. [1] : 159 Two Sabal palms (Florida's state tree) are growing. In the background, a steamboat sails before a sun breaks the horizon, with rays of sunlight extending into the sky. The seal is encircled with the words "Great Seal of the State of Florida", and "In God We Trust" (the state motto).
Prior to the existence of the State of Florida and the Florida Territory, British East and West Florida had their own respective royal seals. [2] [3]
The Florida Legislature in 1868 specified in a joint resolution the design of Florida's first seal. "The Resolution specified that the seal had to be the size of an American silver dollar. It also stated that the seal should contain the sun's rays, a cocoa tree, a steamboat, and a female Indian scattering flowers. These images were to be circled by the words 'Great Seal of the State of Florida: In God We Trust.'"
Several changes have occurred on the seal over the years. The Indian woman no longer has a feathered headdress, which female Seminoles did not wear. "A mountain in the background has been flattened (Florida has no mountains). The steamboat has been revised a few times. And a sabal palm has been transplanted in place of the original cocoa tree to reflect the state's adoption of the Sabal palmetto palm as the official state tree in 1953. The latest revisions took place in 1985." [4]
The Florida Secretary of State is the official custodian of the seal. [5] Use or display of the seal must be for an official purpose and approved by the Florida Department of State. [5] One exception is that other Florida state or local agencies can use or display the seal for official business if approved by the head of their agency. [6] Illegal use of the seal in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor. [5]
The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The obverse of the Great Seal depicts the national coat of arms of the United States while the reverse features a truncated pyramid topped by an Eye of Providence. The year of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776, is noted in Roman numerals at the base of the pyramid. The seal contains three Latin phrases: E Pluribus Unum, Annuit cœptis, and Novus ordo seclorum.
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
The Great Seal of the State of Kansas tells the history of the U.S. state of Kansas.
"In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States as well as the motto of the U.S. state of Florida, along with the nation of Nicaragua. It was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956, replacing E pluribus unum, which had been the de facto motto since the initial design of the Great Seal of the United States.
The flag of Florida is the official flag of the U.S. state of Florida. The flag consists of a red saltire on a white background, with the state seal superimposed on the center. The flag's current design has been in use since May 21, 1985, after the design of the Florida state seal was graphically improved and officially sanctioned for use by state officials.
Serenoa repens, commonly known as saw palmetto, is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around 200–300 cm (6.6–9.8 ft).
The Oleta River State Park is a 1,033-acre (418 ha) state park on Biscayne Bay in the municipal suburb of North Miami Beach in metropolitan Miami, Florida. Adjoining the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, the park contains one of the largest concentrations of Casuarina trees, an invasive species in the state park system. Along the park's coastline are mangrove forests. They provide vital nurseries for aquatic life and filter urban pollutants from coastal waters. The state park promotes biodiversity of flora and fauna through the assistance of Friends of Oleta River State Park. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit citizen support organization (CSO); sponsors events, raises funds, and advances the goals of Oleta River State Park. The state park hosts about 15 endangered species.
Picayune Strand State Forest is one of 37 state forests in Florida managed by the Florida Forest Service. The 78,000-acre forest consists primarily of cypress swamps, wet pine flatwoods and wet prairies. It also features a grid of closed roads over part of it, left over from previous land development schemes.
The Great Seal of the State of Iowa was created in 1847 and depicts a citizen soldier standing in a wheat field surrounded by symbols including farming, mining, and transportation with the Mississippi River in the background. An eagle overhead bears the state motto.
National symbols of the United States are the symbols used to represent the United States of America.
The Great Seal of Arkansas is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the Government of Arkansas. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the governor, and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The seal was modified to its present form on May 23, 1907.
The Great Seal of the State of Ohio is the official insignia of the U.S. state of Ohio. All governmental offices, agencies, and courts in Ohio use variations of the state seal. Its primary feature is a circular coat of arms that depicts a sunrise in Chillicothe, Ohio's first capital, along with symbols of the state's origins. The seal sometimes appears with the state motto, "With God, All Things Are Possible".
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park is a state park located on County Road 603 between Interstate 75 and U.S. Route 301 in Sumter County, Florida. The 80-acre (32 ha) park includes 40 acres (160,000 m2) of pine flatwoods and a live oak hammock. Also called the Dade Massacre site, it preserves the Second Seminole War battlefield where tribal Seminole warriors and Black Seminole allies fought soldiers under the command of Major Francis L. Dade on December 28, 1835. Each year, on the weekend after Christmas, the Dade Battlefield Society sponsors a reenactment of the battle that started the Second Seminole War.
The Wekiva River is a 16.0-mile-long (25.7 km) river in Central Florida, north of Orlando in the United States. It originates in Apopka and joins the St. Johns River, the longest river in the state, in DeBary. The Wekiva River system includes the main stem joined by three main tributaries - Rock Springs Run, Blackwater Creek, and the Little Wekiva River - and about 30 contributing groundwater springs. It is designated as a Florida State Canoe Trail, an Outstanding Florida Water, and an Aquatic Preserve by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The Wekiva River system is also one of the two rivers in Florida federally designated as a National Wild and Scenic River for its scenery, recreation, geology, and diverse habitats.
Green Cay Wetlands is a nature preserve located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The 100-acre (0.40 km2) property was purchased in 1999 from Ted and Trudy Winsberg, who used the property for farming. The Winsbergs sold the property for 1/3 of its appraised value with the condition that it would be made into a wetland. Construction began in July 2003. It was created jointly by the Palm Beach County Utilities Department and the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department in 2004. This park includes 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of an elevated wooden boardwalk, which takes visitors through various habitats, including cabbage palm hammock, cypress swamp, wetland hammock, and tropical hardwood hammock. The boardwalk also features a Seminole chickee hut as well as several gazebos, which have descriptive signs offering information on the wildlife and plant life.
Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the Southeast United States, the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the West Indies, and the Bahamas.
Illicium parviflorum, commonly known as yellow anisetree, yellow-anise, swamp star-anise, and small anise tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Schisandraceae, or alternately, the Illiciaceae. It is native to Florida in the United States. It historically occurred in Georgia as well, but it has been extirpated from the state.
Texas Phoenix palm decline, or lethal bronzing, is a plant disease caused by a phytoplasma, Candidatus Phytoplasma palmae. It takes its name from the state it was first identified in and the palm genus, Phoenix, upon which it was first identified. It is currently found in parts of Florida and Texas.
The Great Seal of the Philippines is used to authenticate official documents of the government of the Philippines.