The name honors Pasqua de Flores , the Spanish Feast of the Flowers at Eastertime. Besides its state flower, Florida now has an official wildflower. In fact, all of the United States might now be called Florida if the Spanish had not left Florida. Juan Ponce de Le n didn't even know that Florida was part of a continent. For all he knew, it might have been just another big island, surrounded by water.
Water is another prominent theme among Florida's diverse symbols.
Florida symbols include two fishes, two aquatic mammals, the alligator, and a marine snail. The official stone, agatized coral, is the fossilized remains of yet another aquatic animal. And Florida's unofficial fossil is related to sea urchins and sand dollars. Sunshine, flowers, and water. That's what Florida's symbols mean to me.