Product Description
17 September 2014 - Symbolic Flowers Post and Go Faststamps Set of 6 x 1stThis is a set of 6 x 1st class stamps in the Bureau pack from machine C002; by this time the number had been allocated to a RM2 machine, producing a different font for the service indicator and datastring to that first used in the Spring Blooms pack.
Symbolic Flowers
According to legend, the thistle was adopted as the national symbol of Scotland after an attempted ambush by Norse invaders on a group of sleeping Scots warriors: when one of the barefoot Norsemen trod on a thistle, his cries woke the Scots, who duly thwarted the attack. The rose became England’s national flower after Henry VII introduced the Tudor rose, a combination of the red and white roses of the Houses of Lancaster and York, to symbolise unity after the Wars of the Roses. Flax, the floral symbol of Northern Ireland, honours the historical importance of the nation’s linen industry. The poppy and the forget-me-not have both long signified remembrance, with the latter particularly associated with love. Wearing a sprig of heather is still said to bring good luck.
FORGET-ME-NOT
Forget-me-nots comprise a large family of plants, from the large, striking water variety to the tiniest specialists of bare ground. All the flowers have a visible white ‘eye’ in the middle, with the outer petals ranging in colour from the palest to the richest blues.
COMMON POPPY *
This iconic plant with large red petals and a dark centre only grows in disturbed ground, such as field margins and wasteland. The occasional sighting of poppies blooming en masse is perhaps one of the most stunning scenes in the British countryside. Since 1921 the Poppy has also been the symbol of Remembrance for those who died not only in World War 1 but other conflicts since.
DOG ROSE
This wildflower, the most widespread of the UK’s native roses, adorns hedgerows, field banks and woodland edges with pink or white flowers in mid-summer. Although often occurring as a small shrub, it can climb up through the canopy reaching heights of over 15 metres. Associated particularly as a symbol of England.
SPEAR THISTLE
One of the larger types of thistle found in the UK, with a purple flower atop a swollen, spiny green base and spear-like tips on the leaves, it typically occurs in damper ground. Its flowers provide a feast of nectar and pollen for insects in late summer. Associated particularly with Scotland.
HEATHER
Heather adorns heathlands and moors, and is one of the last plants of the year to flower, providing abundant late summer forage to wild bees. Each plant is covered in minute purple flowers, and when millions of these open at once, entire landscapes are transformed. Although widespread throughout the United Kingdom it is particularly associated with Scotland.
CULTIVATED FLAX
Grown for centuries and used in the making of cloth and oil, this type of flax is often seen on banks where it has escaped from arable fields. A delicate plant with five pale-blue petals and narrow pointed leaves, it flowers from May to September. It can now be seen below many garden bird feeders, and is a symbol of Northern Ireland.
