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| 2783 Common wasp (Vespa vulgaris) caught in a Venus flytrap (Dioanea muscipula) |
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina, specifically within a 60-mile radius of Wilmington. It catches its prey (chiefly insects and arachnids) with a trapping structure formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves, which is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contacted within twenty seconds of the first strike. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against wasting energy by trapping objects with no nutritional value.
If the prey is unable to escape, it will continue to stimulate the inner surface of the lobes, and this causes a further growth response that forces the edges of the lobes together, eventually sealing the trap hermetically and forming a 'stomach' in which digestion occurs. Release of the digestive enzymes is controlled by the hormone jasmonic acid, the same hormone that triggers the release of toxins as an anti-herbivore defense mechanism in noncarnivorous plants. The species is classified as "vulnerable" by the National Wildlife Federation, but is popular as cultivated plant, even if it have a reputation for being difficult to grow.
About the stamps
The stamps are part of the New Leu series, issued on July 1, 2005 to mark the denomination of the national currency. The series consists of 20 stamps showing the transformation of the old banknotes in the new ones:
• the old 10,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 1 RON - front (0.50 RON) - It's on the postcard 2783
• the old 10,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 1 RON - sided (0.50 RON)
• the old 50,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 5 RON - front (0.80 RON) - It's on the postcard 2783
• the old 50,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 5 RON - sided (0.80 RON)
• the old 100,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 10 RON - front (1.00 RON)
• the old 100,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 10 RON - sided (1.00 RON)
• the old 500,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 50 RON - front (1.20 RON)
• the old 500,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 50 RON - sided (1.20 RON)
• the old 1,000,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 100 RON - front (1.60 RON)
• the old 1,000,000 ROL banknote and the new one of 100 RON - sided (1.60 RON)
• the new 500 RON banknote - front (2.20 RON)
• the new 500 RON banknote - sided (2.20 RON)
• the old 100 ROL coin and the new one of 1 ban - left (0.30 RON)
• the old 100 ROL coin and the new one of 1 ban - right (0.30 RON)
• the old 500 ROL coin and the new one of 5 bani - left (0.70 RON)
• the old 500 ROL coin and the new one of 5 bani - right (0.70 RON)
• the old 1,000 ROL coin and the new one of 10 bani - left (2.10 RON)
• the old 1,000 ROL coin and the new one of 10 bani - right (2.10 RON)
• the old 5,000 ROL coin and the new one of 50 bani - left (3.10 RON)
• the old 5,000 ROL coin and the new one of 50 bani - right (3.10 RON)
All stamps have as background the building of National Bank of Romania and the BNR's logo, with the inscription "125", representing the years since the establishment of this institution, founded in 1880.
References
Venus flytrap - Wikipedia
Senders: The Romanian postcrossers who participated to the Postcrossing meet-up which held in Botanical Garden in Bucharest on September 2, 2016
Sent from Bucharest (Bucharest / Romania), on 26.09.2016
Photo: Chris Mattison
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