NC H1089

Designates the rhododendron as the official state shrub of North Carolina by amending Chapter 145 of the General Statutes to add § 145-52.

Rhododendron is native to North Carolina, thriving on hillsides and slopes from the mountains to the Piedmont, with popular varieties including Catawba Purple Laurel and Rosebay Great Laurel.

Appropriates $10,000 in nonrecurring funds to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to promote the rhododendron as the official state shrub.

Roan Mountain features 600 acres of naturally occurring Catawba rhododendron, making it the largest rhododendron garden in the world, and the Town of Bakersville has held an annual North Carolina Rhododendron Festival since 1952.

The bill becomes effective July 1, 2020, and was suggested by Ms. Sarah Woody's fourth-grade class at Gouge Elementary School in Bakersville.