Spice of Life!

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, Food and so on.. It is amazing!

Rhododendron arboreum locally called Buransh of the Ericaeae family is the state tree of India’s Uttarakhand state. It blooms in April/May every year, painting the mountains red – a great tourist attraction. Species growing in higher reaches differ somewhat. I was first introduced to them in the book Rebecca and since then they have fascinated me.  I remember going on a Garwhal trek just to see these glorious flowers. The juice of Buransh is said to have immense medicinal properties and is a must-have purchase for everyone visiting the region.

In 1977, India Post has issued a lovely stamp for this wonderful flower of denomination 50 np.

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. We meet tomorrow for yet another beautiful plant and its stamp! 

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, Food and so on.. It is amazing!

As in every AtoZ challenge, a couple of alphabets are challenging and we end up stretching the theme so as to complete our AtoZ posts.

At the alphabet Q, today, I find myself in such a dilemma and am taking such liberty in the choice of stamps to talk about. 

I have chosen two stamps depicting plants that the British have played a major role to make them major crops in the country. Namely Rubber and Tea. These two have been mentioned as plants that have influenced history in Prof PK Ghanekar’s book “Itihas Ghadavinarya Vanaspati”. 

Rubber or Hevea brasiliensis of the Euphorbiaceae family.  I have a dedicated a post to Rubber that you will surely find interesting. You can read it here.

Here is another post that gives the history of Rubber’s journey from South America to India and South East Asia.  

Tea or Camellia sinensis of the Theaceae family is a naturalised species in India. This page on the Indian Tea Association website, describes how the British set up huge Tea plantations in India.

After reading this info, and the British influence in development of these plantations in India, may be you will agree that Q is for Queen!

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. We meet tomorrow for yet another beautiful plant and its stamp! 

Take care! Stay Happy!

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, Food and so on.. It is amazing!

Pterospermum acerifolium or Muchkunda of the Sterculiaceae family is a handsome native tree that is valued for timber and is also grown in parks and on roadsides. It has large stipulate leaves typically peltate and night blooming flowers are fragrant. Here is flower image from my collection.

The species rightly finds a place on our stamps. India Post released a commemorative stamp on this species in 2009 with denomination of 5 INR. 

Potatoes are an important part of diet across the world. A lot of research must be going on into improving its crop, quality of tubers etc. India Post has issued a stamp on 50 years of potato research in 1985. 

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. We meet tomorrow for yet another beautiful plant and its stamp! 

Stay Healthy! Stay Happy!