The role of botanical gardens has changed over time, from being, in the beginning, medicinal gardens for the study and cultivation of plants with healing properties, to becoming in time open green spaces for peoples relaxation and leisure. Currently, botanical gardens have a key role in plant conservation and the education of those who visit them daily, but also in the air purification of the in urban areas.
Presently, in the existing botanical gardens in the world there are an estimated 80,000 species of plants, many of them endangered.
The postage stamp issue Flowers from Botanical Gardens presents rare flower species found in the patrimony of four botanical gardens in Romania.
On the stamp with the face value of lei 1.00 is illustrated Astragalus peterfii Jav, plant from the species Milkvetch, endemic to Romania and with a pin head habitat, discovered in 1916 near the Suatu village in the Transylvanian Basin. Despite its modest appearance, the species has a particular scientific value by its uniqueness, age and origin. It is a fragile plant, slender, of a greyish-green colour with leaves uniformly distributed on the stem, consisting of 5 – 7 pairs of hairy leaflets. The inflorescence consists of yellowish papilionaceous type flowers. This is found in the Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden of the Babes – Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, founded in 1920 by professor Alexandru Borza. The Botanical Garden is an oasis of greenery and a living laboratory in the heart of the city.
The stamp with the face value of lei 3.30 reproduces the image of Brandzas Iris (Iris brandzae Prodan), a plant originating in Romania and bearing the name of the doctor and botanist Dimitrie Brandza. A herbaceous perennial plant, it can reach heights of up to 30 – 50 cm. Flowers are terminally located on each stem, and are 4 – 4.5 cm long; they are violet-blue, have their outer perianth-segments lightly colored, with darker violet lines, and their internal perianth-segments are shorter, colored a uniform violet-blue, and strongly keeled. Brandzas Iris blooms in May. It is a vulnerable and rare plant in Romanias flora, with a sporadic spread. It can be admired at the Anastasie Fatu Botanical Garden in Iasi, the oldest botanical garden in Romania, founded in 1856 by he who now gives its name, physician and naturalist Anastasie Fatu.
The stamp with the face value of lei 8.10 reproduces the image of the Romanian Peony or Forest Peony (Paeonia peregrina Mill),a plant that is endemic to Romania, endangered and rare, protected by law. The stalk can reach a height of up to 60 cm. The flowers are simple and large (up to 5 – 6 cm), carmine-red in colour. Stamens are in large numbers, have red stalks and yellow anthers. The Romanian Peony beautifies and completes the living patrimony of the Botanical Garden in Galatz, founded in 1990 as a section of a new museum institution, The Natural Sciences Museum Complex Galatz.
The stamp with the face value of lei 9.10 illustrates the Cross Hale (Hepatica transsilvanica Fuss), a rare forest plant, endemic to the Carpathians, unmistakable due to its leaves. These have a long petiole and kidney shaped lamina, divided into three lobes, each divided into other three lobules. The stem can reach up to 20 cm and supports a single flower. The flowers are large and blue. It is a perennial plant that blooms in spring. It is located in the Dimitrie Brandza Botanical Garden of the University of Bucharest which celebrates 155 years of activity this year. Established in 1860, during the reign of Al. I. Cuza, the Botanical Garden in Bucharest is an institution of culture, education and research, an active factor in the overall awareness of the relationship between man and nature, through the need to conserve plant diversity.
Romfilatelia thanks the Romanian Botanical Gardens Association, the Dimitrie Brandza Botanical Garden of the University of Bucharest, the Anastasie Fatu Botanical Garden in Iasi, the Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and the Botanical Garden of the The Natural Sciences Museum Complex Galatz for the documentary support offered in the creation of this postage stamp issue.
Issue date: 2015-07-03
