You probably know from history lessons that California's official flower is poppy. Many of the state designated symbols are fairly routine: The state bird is a quail, the state animal is a bear, and the state tree is the redwood tree, and the state marine mammal is the California gray whale. It gets a little tricky when you delve into the other State of California trivia, however.

Some lesser known facts:

The state fossil is the sabre tiger.
The state grass is purple needlegrass, a drought tolerant grass.
The state insect is the butterfly.

The state song is: California I Love You. Though rarely, if ever sung, the lyrics provide a glimpse into the kind of thinking that went into writing this tune circa 1915.

I love you, California, you're the greatest state of all.
I love you in the winter, summer, spring and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys; your dear mountains I adore.
I love your grand old ocean and I love her rugged shore.
Chorus
Where the snow crowned Golden Sierras
Keep their watch o'er the valleys bloom,
It is there I would be in our land by the sea,
Every breeze bearing rich perfume.
It is here nature gives of her rarest. It is Home Sweet Home to me,
And I know when I die I shall breathe my last sigh
For my sunny California.

Need more information on California trivia? Read on!