MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama now has an official state vegetable: the sweet potato.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said Friday that the governor signed the bill naming the sweet potato as the official state vegetable. The Alabama Legislature this week gave final approval to the bill. The Alabama Senate vote 29-0 for the bill. The House of Representatives voted 84-4 for it.
Alabama has a long list of official state emblems and honors, including an official state fruit, bird and amphibian. Like others, the bill to elevate the tuber started as a classroom idea. A Harvest homeschool class submitted the idea, according to the bill.
The official state fruit of Alabama is the blackberry. The official tree fruit is the peach. The official crustacean is the brown shrimp. The official amphibian is the Red Hills salamander.