11 April 2022

Iris - Himalayan Iris

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 and the focus is on plants. 

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!

The gorgeous Himalayan Iris finds itself on a India Post stamp issued in 2003 of denomination 5INR. It is a native herb of the Iridaceae family and blooms in June, July. Flowers are blue and or violet. 

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

Inula grandiflora of the Asteraceae family with its showy yellow flowers also a commemorative stamp of HImalayan flowers issued in 1982 with denomination of 1INR

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.  

You can catch up with my previous posts here

See you tomorrow for a stamp.with one of my favourite flowers! 

Till then, Take Care and Stay Happy!  

10 comments:

Dave Roller said...

My Mom just sold her entire stamp collection. I'll tell her about the stamp website for when she starts her withdrawals.

Afshan Shaik said...

Do they both grow only in Himalayas or hills? So bful they r!

Alana said...

Your iris looks so much like what we call Siberian iris in the Northeast United States. It's hardy in our climate (we can get down to -23C in winter) and blooms in early to mid Spring for us. They may be one or the same - that's a good reason to use Latin names, but I rarely do that. Your theme is a wonderful one.

Viyoma said...

Wow, I remember people owning stamp books & now its a hobby of the past.
Very nostalgic to read about Stamps & India post.

Deborah Weber said...

Such lovely flowers. I seem always to forget how much I like irises until I see one.

Archana said...

@Dave I hope you Mother finds the Colnect a useful site. Thank you for stopping by!

Archana said...

@Afshan I think this flower grows in parts of Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim as well. It grows at a high altitude. Thanks for being my regular visitor. :-)

Archana said...

@Alana Thank you so much. You are right. Scientific names make it easy for everyone to understand which plant is being referred to.

Archana said...

@Viyoma Thank you so much! :-)

Archana said...

@Deborah Yes Iris are very pretty flowers! Thanks for stopping by! :-)