02 April 2022

Bougainvillea

I am participating in the April AtoZ Blogging challenge and my theme is Plants featured on Indian Stamps. This is my eight attempt at the AtoZ. 

My theme is inspired by an online talk by Daniel L Nikrent of Cornell University, USA  held by Maharashtra Vriksha Samvardhini about Parasitic Flowering Plants featured on Stamps

I am not a stamp collector nor a fan of stamps. Hence almost all my posts are purely based on research on the internet. I have tried to cross check the info before posting here. Please do share correct info and links to the same in case of discrepancy. 

India Post has a very strong network reaching deep deep into the interiors of the country and I depended on it for news from home when we were posted in far away places.  In this age of smartphones, Internet, how many of us really write letters - snail mail as they are now called? Despite this , I find that new stamps are being issued and we have stamps on diverse topics including Armed Forces, Films, Personalities, Wildlife, Handlooms, Handicrafts and so on.. It is amazing!

B was an easy alphabet and India Post has stamps depicting the Butea monosperma, Bauhinia variegata and Bougainvillea glabraBougainvillea belong to the Nyctanginaceae family and are climbers. However they can be grown as a hedge and also in pots. In fact, Bougainvillea make excellent Bonsai

The species is named after Louis de Bougainvillea, an explorer and Admiral from France who brought this plant to Europe from Brazil. 

Here is an image of my Bougainvillea bonsai. Its still in training!

My Plant in training

1985 had two different stamps commemorative stamps of the Bougainvillea denomination of 50np and 1 INR.

Post of India, GODL-India <https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf>, via Wikimedia Commons

Post of India, GODL-India <https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf>, via Wikimedia Commons

The India Postage Stamps website  has a complete catalogue of stamps. Please click the link to see many many wonderful stamps.

Colnect is a comprehensive portal for Stamp collectors. It gives detailed information about every listed stamp.  Click here for detailed info about Stamps - what is a stamp, types, formats, water marks, perforations and much more. 

We come up to the first weekend of the blogging challenge. 

See you all on Monday for the alphabet C.

Till then, Take care and Stay Happy!

15 comments:

Afshan Shaik said...

Your bonsai is so gorgeous

I never knew so much about Bougainville. It's always good to see plant enthusiasts

Good luck for A to z

My blog - http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.com/

Lisa said...

I had no idea bougainvillea could be bonsai! It's beautiful! I love it, but live where it's just a little too cold for it.

JadeLi said...

What a beautiful bonsai tree! Lovely stamp!

Archana said...

@Afshan Thank you so much!

Archana said...

@Lisa Yes, bougainvillea like warm weather. Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Archana said...

@JadeLi Thank you for your kind words! :-)

Mom and Ideas said...

Bougainvillea bonsai... Wow I did not known that there is something like this, and I have always been fascinated by the flower. Loved this post. See you around the challenge and later.
https://momandideas.com/

Pooja Mahimkar said...

I absolutely love that plant! I am soon going to get it for my balcony

Tamara said...

It is my eighth time around as well - how come our paths have never crossed before?
Fun idea to talk about stamps. They will probably soon be forgotten in our digital world. Very nice picture of your Bougainvillea Bonsai - I didn't know this existed!

Happy Blogging from A-Z!

Tamara said...

It is my eighth time around as well - how come our paths have never crossed before?
Fun idea to talk about stamps. They will probably soon be forgotten in our digital world. Very nice picture of your Bougainvillea Bonsai - I didn't know this existed!

Happy Blogging from A-Z!

Archana said...

@Mom and Ideas Thank you so much! :-)

Archana said...

@Pooja Mahimkar Please do get the plant and post a pic! :-) Thanks for stopping by!

Archana said...

@Tamara Now our paths have crossed so hope to see you around more often! :-) Happy to see you here. Thank you!

Arlee Bird said...

IN my years of stamp collecting I never acquired many stamps from India. This is a beautiful example of stamp art. A nice addition to any collection. Beautiful flowers as well.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Archana said...

Thank you Arlee! Maybe now you can acquire some of our stamps! Especially ones with Plants on them! 😄