Cacti included in programme
BRIAN Phipps, the president of the Loughborough &
District Philatelic Society, is a well-known retired nursery man and keen cacti grower. Therefore, it was no surprise that cacti was included in his programme.
The person he invited to present a display was Les Pearcy, who was not only a nursery man too, but a philatelist.
There were also, four visitors, namely, Alan Brown, (chairman of the Leicester Branch of the Cacti & Succulent Society of Great Britain, Marion Brown, (the secretary of the branch), Mrs. Vicki Newman and Mr. Stan Griffin, from West Bromwich, who grow Cacti and provide displays all over the UK.
Les then presented his display, titled “Cacti & Succulents”. He said that almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water.
All his sheets displayed carried the Latin name for each plant. He said that Cacti had many uses, some medical “Aloe-vera”, for example. His first sheets showed many types of succulents, depicted on stamps, covers, cards and photographs. These were followed by numerous covers that included, a 1937 Belgian cover that carried a Cacti advert, then a Dutch cover with a similar advert, a 1969 USA cover with a Cacti handstamp and a GB cover of 1983, from the National Succulent Society. He also displayed an acknowledgement of an order for cacti and a catalogue produced in 1956 on “Cacti and Succulents on stamps”, and a picture postcard from Monaco of their famous “Exotic Cacti Gardens”.
He then moved onto areas where cacti grew naturally and in the wild. North America was the first country he produced items from. Many, many varieties being displayed. The “Yucca” being one of the most popular.
Items displayed were a pictorial postmark on a USA cover that also showed the Pony Express delivering the mail. Another, and most unusual, was a Copper Foil Post Card, from “The Kopper Kard Company”. And even more unusual were cards showing cacti painted onto actual Yucca Cacti wood!
He then moved onto Africa that had perhaps the most variety of cacti in the world. Les said that the varieties not only were different in shape and size, but in colour too. He said that the same cacti on the West Coast could be large and green, but the same cacti plant could stretch over to the East Coast in between the plant had changed in colour and size that one could hardly recognise it. Cacti could produce some wonderful coloured flowers.
Many stamps were displayed showing them in flower and Post cards (PHQ cards and Maxi Cards) were displayed that showed an enlargement of each one, that enabled the viewer to see the wonderful colours and intricate detail. He also mentioned some “Living Stone” cacti. These were so camouflaged that, unless you knew what to look for, you could hardly tell the difference, between a neighbouring stone and the cacti.
He then showed all the stamps issued by South Africa in 1988, showing different cacti in the designs. Les said that cacti were not a new plant family but had been around for over 1,000 years. Some taking a long time to grow and flower. (Once every 50 years or more), others, especially those in the deserts, only flowered after rain, and then were covered in hours. Their scent could be smelt over a big area, not all apparently, sweet- smelling.
He ended his first half with stamps from countries that had no connections whatsoever with cacti, produced specifically for the philatelic market.
In his second half, he concentrated on Cacti and especially those found in Arizona and California. These were mainly the Saguaro Cacti. The Saguaro is a tree-like cactus which can grow to be over 40 feet (12 m) tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican State of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains in California.
The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. The image of the Saguaro is indelibly linked with that of the films Saguaros have a relatively long lifespan, often exceeding 150 years.
For further information on the society, please contact the secretary, Rowland, 07804616842.