3074) Edelweiss and Alpine Bartsia, Bosnia & Herzegovina: "Flora Stamp Series": Hrvatska pošta Mostar (Mostar) has issued two postage stamps of 4.40 BAM each, depicting the Flora of the Alpine Mountains: Date/Year of Stamp issue: 01.11.2023:
Leontopodium nivale, commonly called "Edelweiss" is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae.
The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about 1,800–3,400 metres (5,900–11,200 ft) altitude.
It is non-toxic and has been used in traditional medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. Its leaves and flowers are covered with dense hairs, which appear to protect the plant from cold, aridity, and ultraviolet radiation.
It is a scarce, short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas and has been used as a symbol for alpinism, for rugged beauty and purity associated with the Alps and Carpathians. It is a national symbol of several countries, specifically Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Italy. According to folk tradition, giving this flower to a loved one is a promise of dedication.
The flower's common name Edelweiß is German and is a compound of edel "noble" and weiß "white".
The Slovenian name is "Planika", meaning mountain girl.
In Romania, it is known as "floare de colț", which means 'cliffhanger's flower.' The flower is referred to as Stella Alpina in the Italian-speaking Alps and étoile des Alpes in the French Alps, meaning 'star of the Alps.'
Edelweiß was one of several regional names for the plant and achieved wide usage during the first half of the 19th century in the context of early Alpine tourism.
Alternative names include Chatzen-Talpen ("cat's paws") and the older Wullbluomen ("wool flower," attested in the 16th century).
The scientific name Leontopodium is a latinisation of the Greek leontopódion, "lion's paw". The Latin specific epithet nivale means "white".
Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) belongs to the Asteraceae family.
It is a rare plant, protected throughout Europe, and is a symbol of mountain regions.
Its small greenish-white flowers are clustered in star-shaped groups, while horizontal leaves are located on the outer part.
The flat and upright stem grows up to 20 cm in height. The basal leaves are spear-shaped, alternate, and elongated, with more hairs for protection against cold weather and water loss.
It reproduces through seeds but can also regenerate from its roots. It grows on inaccessible mountain cliffs.
Alpine Bartsia (Bartsia alpina) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae).
Bartsia alpina is a hemiparasitic perennial plant with a woody rhizome, growing to a height of between 8 and 30 cm (3 and 12 in).
The stem is erect and sometimes branched, hairy and purple in colour.
The leaves are in opposite pairs, with oval leaf blades up to 25 mm (1.0 in) long and toothed margins. At the base of the plant, the leaves are green, but higher up they are tinged with purple.
The corolla is dark purple and is about 20 mm (0.8 in) long. It is narrow at the base and has two lips, an obtuse upper lip and a smaller lower one, with three blunt, equal-sized lobes.
It has four stamens fused to the corolla and two ovaries fused to the style. The fruit is an oval brown capsule.
Its upright, hairy stem grows to a height of 10 to 15 cm. The leaves are oval with serrated edges, and the hermaphroditic flowers are clustered in inflorescences and grow in the axils of the upper leaves.
They are hairy, and the calyx is tubular-bell-shaped, with shorter divisions into 4 dark purple lobes.
The fruit, in the form of a hairy quiver, is approximately 1 cm in length. It grows in grassy habitats ranging from meadows to clearings.
The First Day Cover (FDC) at left shows a stylised painting of the Alpine Bartsia (Bartsia alpina) at left. At top right are affixed the two stamps issued in the set.
The Special Cancellation postmark/handstamp is of Mostar Post and the cancellation is dated - "01.11.2023".
A Sheetlet (S) of eight stamps having four stamps each of the two variants.
Technical details:
Issue Date: 01.11.2023
Designer: Vilim Parić
Printer: AKD d.o.o. Zagreb
Size: 25.56 mm x 35.50 mm
Values: 4.40 BAM (x 2 stamps)
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very interesting and awesome post."
Thank you so much, Trikha sahab.
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative post."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
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