| The
Stamp
The stamp comes from the 2010 Nature
of America - Hawaiian Rain Forest issue which is the 12th stamp pane in
an educational series focusing on the beauty and complexity of major plant
and animal communities in the United States. The issue contains 10 different
designs and is available only in sheetlet of 10 designs. The setting for
the colorful acrylic painting on the stamp pane is a rain forest on Hawaii's
largest island, which is also named Hawaii. Artist John D. Dawson painted
the scene and each of the previous ones in the Nature of America series.
To illustrate the spectacular biodiversity of a Hawaiian rain forest, the
artist depicted more than 24 different species. The scene itself is completely
imaginary. Such a dense grouping was necessary in order to show as many
plants and animals as possible in the stamp pane format. Even so, every
species depicted could be encountered in a Hawaiian rain forest, and all
of the species and their interactions are appropriate and were recommended
by scientists.
A description of the rain forest
and a numbered key to the artwork appear on the back of the stamp pane,
along with a corresponding list of common and scientific names for 24 selected
species.
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