beth + plants = happy

Studio apartment | photos by Haley Rich

SUCCULENT FANS, ARE YOU READY??? on February 15th 2019, the USPS will release a Cactus Flowers first-class forever stamp set. As described on the USPS website:

Each stamp depicts a photograph of the flower of one of these ten cacti: Opuntia engelmannii, Rebutia minuscula, Echinocereus dasyacanthus, Echinocereus poselgeri, Echinocereus coccineus, Pelecyphora aselliformis, Parodia microsperma, Echinocactus horizonthalonius, Thelocactus heterochromus, and Parodia scopa. 

Within the booklet, each stamp design is featured twice. Cactus nomenclature is in flux, and with new DNA studies, botanists sometimes reclassify plants. As of the printing of these stamps, the names were accurate. Cacti also have common names, with some plants having several different names in popular use.

Cacti are flowering perennial succulents in the plant family Cactaceae. Though experts debate exact numbers, more than 1,500 species are known. Almost all cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada to the southern regions of Argentina and Chile. The southwestern U.S. and Mexico are home to the greatest variety and abundance of cacti.

Several botanic gardens in the U.S. showcase the wide variety and stunning beauty of these plants. When the cacti are in bloom, visitors are presented with a vivid- and surprising-floral display. Cactus flowers generally occur singly, although many separate blossoms might appear on a plant at the same time. Flowering occurs at different times of the year and even different times of the day or night depending on the species. Most cactus flowers are large and flamboyant, with colors of white, red, pink, orange, or yellow. Some flowers are also richly scented, and the nectar and colors attract pollinators such as bats, bees, and birds.

Cacti are among America’s most popular houseplants. Most cacti grow very slowly, and they are tough, adaptable, and low maintenance. They are also favorites for rockeries and desert and exotic gardens. When they bloom, their flowers put on a show that compares in beauty with any flower in the garden.

Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with existing photographs taken by John P. Schaefer.

The Cactus Flowers stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps in booklets of 20. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.

Delosperma ‘Fire Spinner’

Until the people at the Denver Botanical Garden began to experiment with growing cold-tolerant members of the Ice Plant Family (Aizoaceae), few people would have imagined that they could take such extremes of winter cold, surviving extended spells under the snow. This discovery led to a burst of interest in the genus Delosperma, with many new selections and hybrids entering the horticultural trade. This one is ‘Fire Spinner’, and it is not known whether it is actually a natural hybrid or a pure species. Whatever the case, the flower color of this plant is incredible, going from orange to deep pink to pale pink to white, with a dollop of yellow pollen at the center for good measure.