Tater Time! NH Embraces White Potato

The white birch is the state tree. The purple lilac is the state flower. The pumpkin is the state fruit. And so on and so forth. But there was something missing in the growing list of official state shout-outs. Not, perhaps, any more. Now it's tater time.

New Hampshire lawmakers in both chambers have adopted a bill to make the white potato–Solanum tuberosum–the official state vegetable.

Senators on Wednesday passed House Bill 535 on a voice vote. Back in February, the House voted 276-75 to pass the bill.

The bill originated as a legislative request by fourth-graders at Derry's Village School. It's intent is as a celebration of Derry being where the first white potato was grown in North America, according to Rep. John T. O'Connor, R-Derry, a co-sponsor of the bill.

After the bill goes through the routine enrollment process it will make its way to the governor's desk. And then, it's a pen stroke away from becoming a law.

"Governor Hassan believes that the civic engagement displayed by Derry's students in their efforts to pass this legislation reflects the best traditions of New Hampshire, and she looks forward to signing the bill into law," said Marc Goldberg, communications director for Governor Hassan.