The official coat of arms of
Grenada is a shield divided into four parts by a golden cross. In the centre of this cross is the
''Santa Maria'',
Columbus' flagship. A lion passant guardant on a red field is shown in the upper left and lower right sections of the shield, with a golden crescent moon out of which a
lily
''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
grows in the upper right and lower left sections. Above the shield there is a golden helmet, topped with a garland of
bougainvillea
''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...
branches. Within the garland are seven red
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s, which stand for the seven communities of Grenada (six
parishes and the
Southern Grenadines). Holding the shield on the dexter side is a
nine-banded armadillo
The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also known as the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. ...
which stands before a
corn stalk; on the sinister side is a
Grenada dove
The Grenada dove (''Leptotila wellsi'') is a medium-sized New World tropical dove. It is endemic to the island of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Originally known as the pea doveLawrence, G. N. (1884). Characters of a new species of ''Engyptila' ...
, which stands before a
banana plant. The base represents
Mount St. Catherine with the
Grand Etang Lake at the centre. A ribbon displays the national motto: "Ever conscious of God we aspire, build and advance as one people."
The coat of arms was adopted by the
island nation in 1974 following independence.
Colonial badges
In the colonial period, Grenada's first arms were in use between 1875 and 1903. These featured
Black Grenadian workers operating a
sugarcane mill, pulled by a pair of
oxen. The motto in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
reads ''hae tibi erunt artes'', a quote from the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' meaning "these shall be your arts."
A second badge was used between April 1903 and 1967, depicting a sailboat and the Latin motto ''Clarior e Tenebris'' ("
shinemore brightly from the darkness").
References
External links
Coat of Arms of Grenada(official website of the government of Grenada)
National symbols of Grenada
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