Mississippi

… entered the Union as the 20th state on this date in 1817. From the Ojibwa misi sipi, “great river.”

Nickname: Magnolia State.
Capital: Jackson.
Motto: Virtute et armis (By virtue and arms).

People: 2,871,782 (31st) (2002 estimate)
Total area: 48,430 sq. mi. (32nd), including 1,523 sq. mi. inland water.

Beverage: Milk.
Bird: Mockingbird.
Fish: Largemouth or black bass.
Flower: Magnolia.
Fossil: Prehistoric whale.
Insect: Honeybee.
Mammal: White-tailed deer.
Song: “Go, Mississippi.”
Stone: Petrified wood.
Tree: Magnolia.
Waterfowl: Wood duck.
Water mammal: Porpoise.

Note that Mississippi is a poor state that needs to use magnolia as both its state flower and state tree.