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October 21, 2016

2835 FRANCE - Flora of the Alps


The Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe stretching approximately 1,200km across eight countries from Austria and Slovenia in the east, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, France to the west and Italy and Monaco to the south. As it is known, in the mountains the vegetation gradually changes with altitude, sun exposure, and location on the mountain. In Alps there are five successive life zones, each with distinct landscapes and vegetation characteristics: premontane, montane, subalpine, alpine, and alvar.

The end of April and May are the best time go to the Alps if you are passionate about spring flowers. You could see fields of narcissus, alpine snowbells and the bulbocodium with its exploding pink flowers all bursting into flower as the snow melt. May and June are the best months to appreciate flowers in the lower valleys you should be able to spot globe flowers, margarites and different varieties of orchid. In July the higher valleys are the place to find the most stunning wild orchids.

Later in July you could be lucky to see Martagon lilies if you visit the resort of Puy St Vincent. If you’d like to see the protected Chardon Bleu or Queen of the Alps, visits the Fournel Valley in early August. Guided tours are organised here so enthusiasts won’t be disappointed. Altogether, in Alps can be found 13,000 plant species, which, together with the 30,000 animal species make from the Alps one of the most important regions for the preservation of biodiversity in central Europe.

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of the series Liberté de Gandon d'après Delacroix, about which I wrote here. About the second stamp, issued to mark The 25th International Geographical Congress - Paris-Alps 1984, I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Salon of stamps, about which I wrote here.

References
Flora of the Alps - Wikipedia
Flora and fauna in the Alps - snowplaza.co.uk

Sender: Jean-Yves Gerlat
Sent from Saint-Mury-Monteymond (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 10.10.2016

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