Commemorative stamp series - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1983 - 50 Pfennig

From cactus cultures of the GDR With the illustrations of cacti, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the German Democratic Republic publishes six multicolored special postage stamps. Special cancellations from June 21st to August 20th, 1983 Cacti - attractive colors for insects In the case of cacti, the pollination of the flowers, which is vital for the preservation of the species, is usually done by insects or hummingbirds. From the thickets of the shrubs, the cacti with their mostly white flowers rise up to a height of 18 meters and stretch their pistils towards the pollinators. Often there are climbing nightbluers, which shine high above the leaves of the trees. It is different with the low ball and wart cacti, they attract by flying colors of the flowers or thorns, sometimes also by sweet smell of the gland excrements the flying and creeping pollinators. 50 Pfennig value: Copiapoa cinerea In the Pampa de Antofagasta, near the long Chilean coast, Curt Backeberg found in 1936 a different species of the known since 1860 Copiapoa cinerea. He called her Copiapoa gigantea because of her unusual length of old specimens. In fact, old plants at about 20 cm in diameter to one meter high, while the 1860 by Prof. dr. A. Philippi found and described Copiapoa cinerea remains much lower and also differs by the Bedornung. The genus name Copiapoa was erected in 1923 by Prof. Rose, derived from the occurrence in the Chilean province of Copiapo.