USA - Mississippi - State Flower

Mississippi
The Magnolia State.

Sent by Jennifer, a postcrosser from Georgia, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. As a result, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are tough, to avoid damage by eating and crawling beetles. Fossilised specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating to 95 million years ago[citation needed]. Another primitive aspect of Magnolias is their lack of distinct sepals or petals.

The natural range of Magnolia species is a disjunct distribution, with a main center in east and southeast Asia and a secondary center in eastern North America, Central America, the West Indies, and some species in South America.

USA - Mississippi

Sent by Kathleen from Bossier City in Lousiana.

Mississippi /ˌmɪsɨˈsɪpi/ is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city with 175,437 people in 2012 up 1.1% from the 2010 U.S. Census with 173,514. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River"). Mississippi is the 32nd most extensive and the 31st most populous of the 50 United States. The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area, which was cleared for cotton cultivation in the 19th century. Today, its catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States. The state symbol is the Magnolia grandiflora tree. The state's flower is the Magnolia and the state bird is the Mockingbird. Mississippi has the lowest median household income, making it the poorest state in the nation. (read further)

USA - Mississippi - Biloxi Lighthouse

The light was civilian operated from 1848 to 1939. In 1939, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the light's operation. After being declared surplus property in 1968, the Biloxi Lighthouse was deeded to the City of Biloxy.

Sent by Gabby, a partner in WorldinPostcards.

This is from Wikipedia : Biloxi Light is a lighthouse in Biloxi, Mississippi, adjacent to the Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. The lighthouse has been kept by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and declared a Mississippi Landmark in 1987.