Detail

Vegetables are precious plants that provide us with essential nutrients, such as dietary fiber, essential vitamins and minerals. However, we often do not know about beautiful flowers that vegetables bloom. Korea Post is issuing the commemorative stamp series Flowering Vegetable Plants featuring flowers of Ligularia fischeri (Ledeb.) Turcz. (Fischer’s ragwort) and Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (calabash) to introduce the beauty of flowering vegetable plants. Ligularia fischeri (Ledeb.) Turcz. (Fischer’s ragwort) grows in humid places on highlands and deep in the mountains. It has a unique flavor, and is consumed raw as wraps or stir-fried. Fischer’s ragwort is also called the “King of Mountain Vegetables” for the mild flavor that anyone can enjoy, and nutrients that help alleviate drowsiness in spring. It belongs to the family Asteraceae, and has a stem that grows between the leaves attached to the root. About three leaves grow on the stem. The leaves that grow on the stem are smaller than the root leaves, and the bottom part of the petiole wraps around the stem. Clusters of yellow flowers start to bloom between July to September. The flowers are about 4 cm to 5 cm in diameter. You can easily recognize the deep-yellow Fischer’s ragwort flowers from a distance, and the Fischer’s ragwort means treasure in the language of flowers. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (calabash) has different sizes and shapes depending on the type. It has a long or circular shape and generally 10 to 100 cm length and vary in size. There is a variety of ways of cooking different parts of calabash. It can be used to make seasoned vegetable. The skin is covered in short hair, and the stem grows vigorously. Multiple side branches grow from each stem node. Calabash flowers have five petals and are about 5 cm to 10 cm in diameter. The flowers bloom between 5 PM and 6 PM from June to August. The flowers are mostly white apart from some wild species. The calabash flower means waiting in the language of flowers. The commemorative stamp series features yellow Fischer’s ragwort flowers and white calabash flowers with butterfly-shaped perforation surrounding the flowers, delivering fresh energy and vitality. We hope the stamp serves as an opportunity for you to appreciate the beauty of flowering vegetable plants as well as their great flavors and nutrition.