Hong Kong Flowers M/S FDC

Hong Kong Minisheet FDC
Name: Hong Kong Flowers
Date of Issue: 14 March 2008

Although a small place in the world, Hong Kong boasts a wide variety of flora. Of some 3,100 plants known in the territory, about 2,100 are native species. To provide a glimpse of this treasure, Hongkong Post launched its first "Flowers of Hong Kong" special issue in 1985, and now presents a sequel entitled "Hong Kong Flowers" and composed of six stamps under the same theme. Rendered with fine brushstrokes, six common local flowers stand out against a simple backdrop.

Designs:
$1.40: Chinese Hibiscus
Chinese Hibiscus is an evergreen shrub of the Malvaceae family. This ornamental all-season bloomer comes mostly in red and occasionally yellow or yellowish orange. Inside a ring of five petals is a central stamen. Pollination relies on insects attracted to the stunning blossoms by their vibrant colour and sweet nectar.

$1.80: Tree Cotton
Tree Cotton is a deciduous tree of the Bombacaceae family. Scarlet bell-shaped corollas with five overlapping petals flourish in spring and summer. The flowers form individually or in clusters at branch ends. On whorls of horizontally spreading branches are alternate, compound leaves arranged in palmate form. This lofty giant yields fruit capsules after flowering. Fluffy seeds released from ripened capsules are picked up by the breeze for wind dispersal.

$2.40: Allamanda
Allamanda is a scandent evergreen shrub of the Apocynaceae family. In summer and autumn, the plant bears yellow funnel-shaped flowers with hidden stamens. Its stems and twigs contain latex. Arranged in pairs or in whorls along the short petiole, the oval leaves are pointed at the apex and woolly beneath the midrib.

$2.50: Azalea
Azalea is an evergreen shrub of the Ericaceae family. This ornamental species bursts into flowers in spring. When in bloom, umbels of funnel-shaped flowers are produced in an array of colours such as white, red and pink. Oval leaves are arranged alternately, hairy on both sides and characterised by their mucronate apexes.

$3: Indian Lotus
Indian Lotus is an aquatic perennial herb of the Nymphaeaceae family. Thriving in the heat of mid-summer, the plant bears single flowers at the tips of the stalks in different shades such as red, white, purple or pink. The petals are usually embedded in the receptacle and the leaves are shield-shaped. Well known for its refreshing fragrance, the Indian Lotus is ornamental as well as culinary and medicinal. Various parts of the plant, including its rhizomes (lotus roots), fruit (seed pods), seeds (lotus seeds) and leaves, can be consumed as food or medicine.

$5: Morning Glory
Morning Glory is a perennial climber of the Convolvulaceae family. In summer and autumn, the plant produces colourful blossoms of white, blue, purplish blue and purplish red. The flower, usually solitary, has a trumpet-shaped corolla and the leaves are cordate-based. Dark and light stripes on the petals serve as the nectar guide leading pollinators to the nectary. Delicate and tender, the blossoms open in the morning and wilt in the afternoon.

2008 Hong Kong Flowers FDC
2008 Hong Kong Flowers Minisheet FDC