Thursday, March 7, 2013

Pond Life Definitives (Series 3) 2013 - Singapore




Definitives Pond Life 2013
(Date of issue : 20 Mar 2013)

Ponds are teeming with both animal and plant life.  It supports a large variety of animal and plant life such as birds, crayfish, small fishes, frogs, insects, algae and water lilies.  In fact, a pond is a fascinating habitat to study, a good one teeming with a great variety of both animal and plant life.  If a pond is to be a successful habitat, it must have aquatic plants growing in its as they provide food, oxygen and shelter for the animals.  In this stamp issue, we feature two of these interesting pond plants, namely the Geli Geli or Lasia spinosa (1st Local stamp) and the Water Gentian or Nymphoides indica (2nd local stamp).

Geli Geli (Lasia spinosa)

The Lasia spinosa is an obscure member of the yam family, Araceae.  The common names of this plant include simply lasia, unicorn plant (probably due to the appearance of its inflorescences) and geli-geli (in Malay).

It is a perennial tropical and aquatic plant that thrives in a location with semi-shade to full sun.  It can be found along the banks of rivers and in swamps and is tolerant of waterlogged conditions.

The Lasia spinosa is edible and possess medicinal properties.  Both the rhizomes and leaves possess expectorant properties and the leaves are used to treat coughs, stomachaches and various aches and pains.

Water Gentian (Nymphoides indica)

Nymphoides indica or the Water Gentian is also known as the Water Snowflake.  It is a pretty, fast-growing, perennial aquatic plant.  A blooming colony indeed looks like snow-flakes on water.

The Water Gentian has flat, rounded, floating leaves and delicate white flowers with yellow centres.  The petals have unusual, feathery edges.  The flowers are formed above the floating leaves with 2-4 cm long stalks.  It gets its common name, of floating hearts because of the heart-shaped, bright green leaves which lie on the water surface like those of water lilies.  Although they bear some resemblance to water lilies, they are not closely related. 

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