Titan Arum Flower, Indonesia

Amorphophallus Titanium or the Titan Arum is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. Due to its odour, which is like the smell of a rotting corpse, it is characterised as a carrion flower and also goes by the name of corpse plant. I must say I am very intrigued by this and would love to see/smell it myself...once in a lifetime would be enough I'm guessing..!

The stamp shows a creature I have never heard of before, or rather I thought so far Cuscus is only something you eat heh. But here it is, or more precisely a Black-Spotted Cuscus, which is sadly critically endangered...and difficult to spot in the wild, which resulted in this very stamp being the only image of it on Wikipedia. And that's a second C for this week's Sunday Stamps' A-Z challenge :)

Cattleya Mossiae, Venezuela

Ok, not to completely undermine the meaning of today, I give you these beautiful orchids to behold :) Many thanks to Luis Alberto, who introduced me to the national flower of Venezuela - Cattleya mossiae or more commonly known as flor de Mayo ("May flower") or easter orchid.

Enjoy your Valentines ;)

UNESCO - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK

This historic landscape garden features elements that illustrate significant periods of the art of gardens from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The gardens house botanic collections (conserved plants, living plants and documents) that have been considerably enriched through the centuries. Since their creation in 1759, the gardens have made a significant and uninterrupted contribution to the study of plant diversity and economic botany.

Oh boy...I have received this card not last, but the year before last - the last time I have participated in a forum group, in the vacation RR. Thanking Paulina for this showcase of the Kew Gardens through the seasons :)

 

Mount Cook Lily, New Zealand

Actually not a lily, but a Mountain Buttercup, this is a species endemic to New Zealand, where it occurs in the South Island and on Stewart Island at altitudes of 700–1500 m. This photo may possibly have been taken in the Mount Cook National Park area, which would make it an Unesco whs site, as I've just realised :)) Many thanks to Susan for this heart-warming view..!

 

The Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands or Føroyar are an island group and archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948. Faroese is spoken there, one of four languages descended from the Old West Norse language spoken in the Middle Ages (the others being Icelandic, Norwegian and the extinct Norn). According to official statistics from 2002, 84.1% of the Faroese population are members of the state church, the Faroese People's Church (Fólkakirkjan), a form of Lutheranism.

These are only a few of the interesting facts about this island nation! The postcard shows Gjógv, a village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy (2nd largest in the archipelago). The back of the card sez: In the village of Gjógv all streams are yellow. Then you look closer and see the stream of the lovely national flower the marsh marigold 'flowing' from the second photo towards the houses. Fantastic!

Thanks a bunch Jógvan :)))