2020 First-Class Forever Stamp,Wild Orchids (booklet): Cypripedium californicum

# 5446 - 2020 First-Class Forever Stamp - Wild Orchids (booklet): Cypripedium californicum

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US #5446
2020 Cypripedium Californicum – Wild Orchids (Booklet)

  • Pictures the California lady’s slipper orchid
  • Part of the Wild Orchids set picturing nine orchid species native to the United States (one species shown twice)


Stamp Category: 
Definitive
Set:  Wild Orchids
Value:  55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  February 21, 2020
First Day City:  Coral Gables, Florida
Quantity Issued:  500,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Double-sided Booklets of 20
Perforations:  Serpentine die cut 10 ¾ x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
Tagging:  Phosphor tagged paper, block

Why the stamp was issued:  To showcase the beauty and diversity of different species of wild orchids.

About the stamp design:  Pictures a photograph by Jim Fowler of the California lady’s slipper orchid, a species that grows wild in the United States.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in Coral Gables, Florida, home to the headquarters of the American Orchid Society.

About the Wild Orchids set:  Includes 10 stamps picturing photographs by Jim Fowler of nine different orchids (one species shown twice) native to the United States.  Species include:  the three birds (pictured twice), California lady’s slipper, crested coralroot, showy lady’s slipper, marsh lady’s tresses, eastern prairie fringed, greater purple fringed, grass pink, and yellow cowhorn orchids.  These are all beautiful wildflowers that most people don’t get the opportunity to see.  They’re all hard to find today.

History the stamp represents:  Wild orchids can be found almost worldwide, but certain species have very small ranges.  One such plant is Cypripedium californicum – the “California lady’s slipper.”

The California lady’s slipper grows on the edges of woodland streams in open coniferous forests.  However, this orchid only exists in the mountains of southwestern Oregon and northern California.

The flowers of the California lady’s slipper are greenish-brown and white with some examples having small pink spots.  This orchid species grows in very large clumps, with each flower stem holding up to 21 blooms!  The plant itself grows up to three feet tall.

Like almost all orchid species, the California lady’s slipper is vulnerable to habitat destruction and climate change.  Thankfully, most plants are found safely tucked away in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwestern Oregon.  This area was designated wilderness by Congress in 1964 and encompasses 179,755 acres.  In addition to the California lady’s slipper, the wilderness is also home to the rare, slow-growing Kalmiopsis leachiana plant.

It can be hard to protect vulnerable species like orchids.  Luckily, as long as Kalmiopsis Wilderness remains, the California lady’s slipper will be safe for generations to come.

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US #5446
2020 Cypripedium Californicum – Wild Orchids (Booklet)

  • Pictures the California lady’s slipper orchid
  • Part of the Wild Orchids set picturing nine orchid species native to the United States (one species shown twice)


Stamp Category: 
Definitive
Set:  Wild Orchids
Value:  55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  February 21, 2020
First Day City:  Coral Gables, Florida
Quantity Issued:  500,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Double-sided Booklets of 20
Perforations:  Serpentine die cut 10 ¾ x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
Tagging:  Phosphor tagged paper, block

Why the stamp was issued:  To showcase the beauty and diversity of different species of wild orchids.

About the stamp design:  Pictures a photograph by Jim Fowler of the California lady’s slipper orchid, a species that grows wild in the United States.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in Coral Gables, Florida, home to the headquarters of the American Orchid Society.

About the Wild Orchids set:  Includes 10 stamps picturing photographs by Jim Fowler of nine different orchids (one species shown twice) native to the United States.  Species include:  the three birds (pictured twice), California lady’s slipper, crested coralroot, showy lady’s slipper, marsh lady’s tresses, eastern prairie fringed, greater purple fringed, grass pink, and yellow cowhorn orchids.  These are all beautiful wildflowers that most people don’t get the opportunity to see.  They’re all hard to find today.

History the stamp represents:  Wild orchids can be found almost worldwide, but certain species have very small ranges.  One such plant is Cypripedium californicum – the “California lady’s slipper.”

The California lady’s slipper grows on the edges of woodland streams in open coniferous forests.  However, this orchid only exists in the mountains of southwestern Oregon and northern California.

The flowers of the California lady’s slipper are greenish-brown and white with some examples having small pink spots.  This orchid species grows in very large clumps, with each flower stem holding up to 21 blooms!  The plant itself grows up to three feet tall.

Like almost all orchid species, the California lady’s slipper is vulnerable to habitat destruction and climate change.  Thankfully, most plants are found safely tucked away in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwestern Oregon.  This area was designated wilderness by Congress in 1964 and encompasses 179,755 acres.  In addition to the California lady’s slipper, the wilderness is also home to the rare, slow-growing Kalmiopsis leachiana plant.

It can be hard to protect vulnerable species like orchids.  Luckily, as long as Kalmiopsis Wilderness remains, the California lady’s slipper will be safe for generations to come.