Flame Vine

This regular postage issue begins a specialized territorial botanical collection by providing a rigorous natural history study of the Flame Vine (Pyrostegia venusta). The centralized artwork details a climbing woody branch bearing a dense, cascading cluster of trumpet-shaped, tubular flowers with prominent elongated stamens flanked by dark green ovate leaflets. Historically, this definitive stamp represents the rich understory and garden ecology that flourishes across the diverse microclimates of the volcanic islands. By cataloging this vigorous, introduced ornamental climber, the civil administration preserved a permanent archival record of the naturalized botanical varieties that adapted to the fertile basaltic soils of the archipelago.