Fruits of the Forest 29.11.1973

Pro Juventute is a charitable foundation in Switzerland established in 1912. It is dedicated to supporting the rights and needs of Swiss children and youth.

Since 1913, the Swiss post office has issued an annual charity stamp series to support the work of Pro Juventute. The Pro Juventus stamps who’s surcharge went to children’s charity were in the series “Fruits of the Forest”.

(15+5) Castanea sativa, or sweet chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae, native to Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived deciduous tree, it produces an edible seed, the chestnut, which has been used in cooking since ancient times.

(30+10) Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry native to Europe, Anatolia, Maghreb, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus and northern Iran, with a small isolated population in the western Himalaya. The species is widely cultivated in other regions and has become naturalized in North America and Australia. All parts of the plant except for the ripe fruit are slightly toxic, containing cyanogenic glycosides.

(40+20) The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the Rubusgenus in the Rosaceae family, hybrids among these species within the Rubussubgenus, and hybrids between the Rubus and Idaeobatus subgenera. The taxonomy of the blackberries has historically been confused because of hybridization and apomixis, so that species have often been grouped together and called species aggregates. For example, the entire subgenus Rubus has been called the Rubus fruticosus aggregate, although the species R. fruticosus is considered a synonym of R. plicatus.

(60+20) Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with indigo-colored berries from the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium (a genus that also includes cranberries, bilberries and grouseberries). Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are native to North America (commercially cultivated highbush blueberries were not introduced into Europe until the 1930s).

Johnny Appleseed 24.9.1966

John Chapman, popularly known as Johnny Appleseed, is honored with this  1966 5¢ Johnny 

Appleseed stamp. Chapman, while voyaging the Ohio River with two canoes filled with appleseed, traveled over 100,000 square miles planting apple orchards.

John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 11, 1845), often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present day West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples. He was also a missionary for The New Church (Swedenborgian) and the inspiration for many museums and historical sights such as the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Urbana, Ohio and the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center in between Lucas, Ohio and Mifflin, Ohio.

Thank you Merja for this FDC with a nice stamp with an interesting story.

Cloudberries 3.1.2005

In January 2005, the third and last Frama label motif was issued. This time, they had put cloudberries in the basket.

Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) belongs to the rose family like raspberries and blackberries. Cloudberries are commonly found in the bog parts of moors, in marshes and mires in the northernmost parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but under certain circumstances, they can also be found further south in Europe. In Åland, cloudberries are rather uncommon and only modest amounts of berries can be found in certain places. In Åland, the cloudberry plant flowers in May-June, and the berries ripen at the end of July. Cloudberries are juicy with a fresh, sour taste and a special aroma. They are extremely rich in vitamin-C and are mostly used for jam, jelly, and syrup and in sauces.

Thank you Pia for this pretty FDC.