Romfilatelia and the Romanian Post bring us closer to the wonderful world of flowers through a philatelic issue that will be introduced into circulation on Thursday, March 5th this year under the name Irises, consisting of 4 postage stamps (with face values of Lei 5.50, Lei 6.50, Lei 9 and Lei 16) and two First Day Covers in miniature format.
Iris flowers owe their popularity to their unique shape and intense colours, which convey optimism and bring joy to those who care for them or receive them as gifts.
These flowers express nobility, dreaming and melancholy, mystery and spiritual depth.
The iris flower is a symbol of royalty and a subject of Greek mythology, where Iris is presented as the goddess of the rainbow. It is called either ‘Iris’ (rainbow) or ‘eiris’ (messenger).
After the advent of Christianity, the Iris began to be considered the flower of the Virgin Mary, a symbol of divine protection, faith, wisdom, and value.
For the French, the iris flower was the precursor to the famous lily flower.
The items of the issue feature hybrids of the Iris × germanica species, commonly known as the bearded iris, is one of the most spectacular ornamental plants grown in gardens. An ancient hybrid of Mediterranean origin, this species impresses with the elegance and chromatic diversity of its flowers.
It belongs to the Iridaceae family and is widely cultivated for its large, spectacular flowers.
A perennial herbaceous plant with vigorous rhizomes and long, sword-shaped leaves, iris reaches heights of 40–100 cm. The leaves are long, narrow, sword-shaped, and bluish-green in colour. The large (10–15 cm), velvety flowers, consisting of six tepals, are decorated with a fine ‘beard’ on the outer petals – a distinctive feature of the bearded iris group. The colour palette is varied: deep purple, blue, yellow, white, pink, or spectacular two-colour combinations.
Through its distinctive beauty and exceptional ornamental value, Iris × germanica remains an iconic presence in European horticultural heritage. It has been cultivated in Europe for centuries and has become naturalized in many regions, blooming in spring, between April and June, Iris × germanica symbolizes elegance, hope, and nobility.
It is the species with the greatest number of hybrids among ornamental irises. There are thousands of cultivars created through hybridization.
The plant is ideal for borders, roundabouts, rustic or Mediterranean gardens. It is also used as a cut flower, being valued for its durability and low maintenance requirements.
In the first month of spring, along with the message of optimism and joy conveyed by irises flowers, we would like to include the following wishes:
,,Happy Anniversary, dear friends of the Romanian stamp!”
“A beautiful spring!”
Romfilatelia thanks Prof. Paulina Anastasiu, PhD, Director of the ‘Dimitrie Brandza’ Botanical Garden of the University of Bucharest, and the specialists of this institution for their documentary support in the development of this postage stamp issue, as well as the representatives of the Stamp Factory.
