This Miniature sheet was issued by Slovenia on 26th September, 2007.
The white water-lily is a symbol of slowly running and stagnant waters. Not many people are aware that in Slovenia, it is a native plant known primarily as a decorative plant of artificial water objects. It attaches to silt with a strong rhizome and on the surface, it grows large, floating leaves with veins in a netlike structure. The flowers are also of considerable size, growing 10 to 15 centimeters in diameter, and the green sepals transform into numerous petals which form the water-lily’s main “ornament”. In the middle of the hermaphroditic flower, there are numerous yellow stamens and a pistil with an ovary. The ovary matures into a green fruit with multiple seeds.
There are several kinds of species of water-lily, however, in Slovenia only the white water-lily can be found in nature. On the other hand, flower shops offer water-lilies of different colours of flowers, from pink and lilac to yellow. For this reason, the pressure on natural water-lily populations has been greatly reduced, as fanciers of water gardens and private ponds usually go for more lively specimens. Nevertheless, in Slovenia the white water-lily is a species in decline, a vulnerable species with falling numbers, especially along large rivers, such as the rivers Drava and Mura.
Catalogue number to be updated - Water-Lily - Nymphaea alba
