Stamps were the start of my ‘collecting’ habits* [editorial note: I may be rewriting history here, it could also have been soaps, erasers or Smurfs]. In covid-19 lockdown I rediscovered some floral stamps from all over the world that I’d picked up somewhere along the way. I spent half a day rearranging them on a tray – by colour, by family – and photographing them. I posted a photo on twitter and was sent the link to this page which outlines Australian Plants on Australian Postage Stamps.
Is there a NZ version? Watch this space as I have found this site which lists (and depicts most) all NZ stamps. The next inevitable step for me is actually collecting them to photograph. Now’s about the time I wish I’d kept my childhood stamp book, perhaps many were in there? Perhaps now is also the time I say to myself “Really? You need to collect them?”. And my inner voice says “of course I do“.
It looks like there were NZ plant series in 1960, 1967 (a reprint of the 1960 series), 1972 (alpine plants), 1989 (trees), 1990 (orchids – I actually have these), 1999 (native tree flowers), 2012 (native trees), 2013 (native ferns), 2014 (native seaweeds) and 2019 (alpine plants – and featuring a plant I has a very minor role in helping Te Papa scientists name, and which of course I also have). There looks like a few plants as part of other sets like a Chatham Islands Lily (Myosotidium hortensia) in a Chathams set in 1970.
*Strangely I don’t collect plants, though I curate a really big collection at work! My collecting buzz comes from collecting dinner sets and vases. I think that’s it. Glad I didn’t keep the Smurfs.
Botan_ical 