Flower named after Governor Kay Ivey

Gov. Kay Ivey now has two things named after her. With a new $1.25 billion prison, the Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex, set to be completed in Elmore County sometime this fall, Ivey now has a new variety of camellia flower, the Camellia japonica L., that has been named in her honor.

The new flower name, the Governor Kay Ivey Camellia, was approved by the American Camellia Society back in November. On Wednesday, members of the Greenville Camellia Society, as well as Greenville Mayor Jae’Ques Brown, visited Ivey at her office in Montgomery to give her the official proclamation.

Ivey is the second Alabama governor to have a camellia flower named after her. The first, Alabama’s Lurleen, was named after Gov. Lurleen B. Wallace in 1968.

“I am deeply touched to receive this special and unique honor, especially since it is one shared with my predecessor and mentor, Governor Lurleen B. Wallace,” Ivey said in a statement. “The camellia has always been one of my favorite flowers.”