Plants of the world on postage stamps

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Alisdair

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #720 on: October 05, 2018, 07:58:26 AM »
Hilary, Isabelle Doumet Skaf in Lebanon recently sent our MGS Facebook page this photo of a boll on a cotton plant she's got on in a pot on her balcony. She collected the seed a couple of years ago in an Uzbekistan cotton field. And there's a picture too of the plant itself. We then heard from another member who finds them splendid for flower arrangements. I wonder how many people in mediterranean areas have tried this as a pot plant?
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #721 on: October 05, 2018, 08:31:29 AM »
Great photo
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #722 on: October 05, 2018, 01:36:51 PM »
It would be good if someone could post a photo of the flower of the cotton plant the next time I post a stamp featuring cotton. One more to go I think
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #723 on: October 06, 2018, 05:17:20 AM »
Tecoma stans, GUARAN AMARILLO- GUARANGUAY

The fifth stamp issued by Argentina in 1983.

I can’t say I have seen this plant but it seems to be very popular in tropical countries.

To read about Tecoma stans and other plants in the same family read
PLANT FAMILY BIGNONIACEAE PART 3 by John Calderwood
 in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 16, Spring 1999
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

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John J

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #724 on: October 06, 2018, 07:53:48 AM »
Hilary, Tecoma stans are very popular here in Cyprus too, you see them everywhere. I have to say that the one depicted on the Argentinian stamp looks less like any T. stans that I have ever seen. We'll probably have to allow them artistic licence.
The photos are of one of our plants taken a few days ago.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #725 on: October 06, 2018, 08:09:59 AM »
Great photos. I can't say I have seen any Tecoma stans around here
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

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John J

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #726 on: October 06, 2018, 10:30:30 AM »
Hilary, below are photos I took a few minutes ago of our hybrid Tecoma stans 'Orange Jubillee'. Still not quite the same colour as your stamps but maybe a little closer?
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #727 on: October 07, 2018, 05:53:20 AM »
Caesalpinia pulcherrima,

A stamp issued by Cuba in 1977 to commemorate the
The 100th Anniversary of the birth of Doctor Juan Tomas Roig in a six stamp series named CUBAN  FLOWERS

 I don’t have a photo of this plant and the one I knew in Sparta must have died as it is not there anymore
You can read some information and see some photos here

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=280679&isprofile=0&re

Caesalpinia pulcherrima    is mentioned a couple of times in
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN 
To read  how the “the Department of Water and Power, [of Los Angeles] took the radical step of removing the turf and traditional landscapes surrounding its facilities. They then designed and replaced these landscapes with drought – tolerant, water conservative gardens”
read
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 82, October 2015
THE WIDOW’S DROUGHT by Ann Semaan Beisch

Drawing by Derek Toms and scanned from MAKING A GARDEN ON A GREEK HILLSIDE BY Mary Jaqueline Tyrwhitt
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

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John J

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #728 on: October 07, 2018, 08:40:09 AM »
Alisdair, Thea mentioned your idea of growing a cotton plant in a pot to her older (80) sister. Her response was along the lines of: (translated from Greek and cleaned up); "Are you mad! After the years of abuse my hands suffered picking the damned stuff, do you think I'd ever want to see one again?"
Cotton was grown in Cyprus for centuries and even into the 1950s was a main export commodity, until production declined for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with lack of water. In the 1980s the authorities experimented with 12 varieties of cotton to try to revitalise the industry but to no avail.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #729 on: October 08, 2018, 05:48:56 AM »
Iris arenaria, Sand iris

This stamp was issued by Hungary in 1971 in an eight stamp series. I have sent posts of the other seven stamps but somehow or other this got left behind probably because I didn’t have a photo of a suitable yellow iris to go with it.

We did see a yellow iris, although not Iris arenaria, several years ago in Madrid when we visited the Quinta de los Molinos Park.   
This is a photo of that iris

To read about this park in Madrid go to THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 59, January 2010 A MEDITERRANEAN ORCHARD IN THE CITY
by  Meye  Maier
See THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN website for photographs
http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/59-madrid.html
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #730 on: October 09, 2018, 05:58:27 AM »
Commelina sp.

A stamp issued by Ghana in 1967 in a series of six stamps named NATIONAL SYMBOLS.

I had seen this bright blue flower, Commelina erecta, in Sparta and asked
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY Forum to identify it for me, which they did very quickly.

Unfortunately it is not mentioned in any articles in
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN but you can acquire seeds  from the seed exchange.
Look here to see the latest seed list
 http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/seedlist.html
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

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John J

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #731 on: October 09, 2018, 06:44:41 AM »
A word of caution, Hilary, we find that it spreads itself around very freely, popping up all over the place.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

David Dickinson

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #732 on: October 10, 2018, 12:53:56 AM »
It comes up everywhere for me too John. Easy to pull up so not truly invasive. However, it gets from one large pot to another with no help from me. I can only immagine the seed is carried by birds. It is certainly not carried by wind as it would be too heavy.  But you wouldn't think birds would bother with it. No interesting fruit is produced and the seeds are not like other seeds with an attractive soft kernel.
I have a small garden in Rome, Italy. Some open soil, some concrete, some paved. Temperatures in winter occasionally down to 0°C. Summer temperatures up to 40°C in the shade. There are never watering restrictions but, of course, there is little natural water for much of June, July and August.

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #733 on: October 10, 2018, 06:31:35 AM »
Sciurus vulgaris, Red Squirrel.

Another stamp depicting an animal loved by the Royal Mail.
This one was issued in 1977 in a five stamp series all depicting the usual suspects, hedgehog, hare, squirrel, otter and badger. I don’t have a stamp featuring either a hedgehog or an otter but on the other hand I have not scanned all the UK presentation packs in the cupboard

The photo of a thin squirrel with bedraggled tail was taken in The Buen Retiro Park, Madrid many years ago.

As I have said before there are plenty of references to squirrels in
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN.
I have chosen number 6, Autumn 1996
OAKS IN A CALIFORNIA GARDEN by Katherine Greenberg
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

Hilary

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Re: Plants of the world on postage stamps
« Reply #734 on: October 11, 2018, 06:25:21 AM »
Viola riviniana, Dog violet

Another stamp issued in 1967 by the Royal Mail to celebrate some of the wildflowers which grow in Britain.
The Dog Violet was voted the County Flower of Lincolnshire in 2002. I had no idea that there were County Flowers of the UK

The photo is of the lid of a trinket box I had given to a friend of mine after a trip to Spain. The box and lid are white so I don’t know why the photo came out blue. Also the flowers don’t look so fuzzy when you look at the box

This plant is mentioned in
 A CONVERSATION IN THE MOORISH GARDEN OF CREVILLENTE
 By Pedro Jose Moya
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 70 October 2012

MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care