Wild Flowers of India

India Post has paid a tribute to the rich plant diversity of India by including twelve of its rare and beutiful flowers in a sheet of stamps worth Rs. 5 each. 
Dibang Chirita
This is named after Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh where it is found. An erect herb, its flowers occur singly. They are bluish white outsidewith two yellow lines on the lower parts ofthe palate.
Kashmir Mallow
As the name suggests, it is found in Kashmir, Western Himalayas. This is a bush of ivy-shaped leaves. Again, the flower is single, funnel-shaped and pink, about 4-8 cm across. It blooms from midsummer to fall.
Himalayan mini Sunflower
It is a perennial herb just 25 cm tall with sunflower-line yellow flowers with dark centres. The flowers are single, bent down, with yellow-coloured ray florets and bloom from July to September. This is found at high altitudes from 3,500 to 4,800 m above sea level, from Kashmir to South-east Tibet.
Himalayan Lantern
Found at slightly lower altitudes of 1,200 to 3,00 m in North-Eastern Himalayas (mainly Sikkim and Darjeeling), the 50 cm tall, beautiful shrub has arching stems and tiny flowers that look like hanging lanterns. The flowers are bright red, orange or pinkish-white with dark red zig-zag bands. They flower earlier, from May to June.
Roundleaf Asiabell
A perennial vine, with bell-shaped flowers with greenish-white veins and purple lobes, this is also found at similar altitudes of 1,800 to 3,600 m. It flowers from July to August.
Blue Poppy
Another Himalayan rare herb, it is found at high altitudes of 3,000 to 4,500 m from Uttarakhand to Kashmir. The large deep blue flowers have 4-5 petals 5-11 cm across with constrasting golden-yellow stamens.
Globe Thistle
It is a sharp, spiny herb with a simple stem and a dense head flower which is spherical, about 7 cm across. It is found from Kashmir to Nepal at altitudes of 1,400 to 1,700 m.
Himalayan Iris
Found at high alpine altitudes of 3,000 to 4,000 m, it is a stunningly beautiful, perennial, tall herb about 50 cm high with deep lilac/purple flowers that bloom from April to June. In this season, it can cover whole mountain-sides so that they look purple.
Himalayan Bellflower
It is also a perennial herb found in the wild from Kashmir to Nepal. The plant has spikes of large dark-blue-pruple, bell-shaped flowers borne at the top of the stem. The petals are pointed at the ends and the flower can be as long as 5 cm. They are also found at altitudes of 2,000 to 3,500 m.
Cobra Lily
The name of this flower comes from the hood-like, in-curved spathe (the leaf-like bract that encloses or brackets the flower cluster) that can be 7-21 cm long. The spathe is longitudinally striped in purple or bronze. It also grows from Himachal Pradesh to Sikim at altitudes of 1,800 to 4,300 m and flowers from July to September.
Bladder Campion
It is a perennial herb with stems 30-100 cm tall. It has few large, drooping, white to greenish flowers with deeply lobed petals. There is a prominent swelling just below the petals which is the sepal tube, giving it is name of "bladder". The flowers are small, about 2 cm across, in clusters, with equal size sepal, and bloom from June to August.
Rhododendron
Pink coloured with bell shaped flowers, this is native to regions from Eastern Nepal to Arunachal Pradesh with altitudes from 2,700 to 3,700 m.  It is an evergreen shrub with long leaves which are whitish beneath. The flowering season is from March to June.
Department of Posts has stated, "Department of Posts pledges its support to the cause of conserving India's rich biodiversity by issuing these commemorative postage stamps on Wild Flowers of India."
Notes: A perennial plant is a plant that lives for more than two years, that is, a long-living plant.
Adapted from the web-site of the Department of Posts:
http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Stamps2013.aspx
Photo and Text Credits: Padma Shri Prakash Dubey