Description: This 26p polychrome stamp features a precise botanical illustration of the Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) set against a cream background. The design is subtly split by a vertical line, with the background on the left slightly shaded to reinforce the caption "Decline in sites" printed at the top left. The silhouette of Queen Elizabeth II in dark blue is positioned at the top right, while the denomination "26" and the species name in both English and Latin anchor the bottom. Designed by Robert Maude, it is one of six stamps in the set, each highlighting a different UK species threatened by habitat loss.
Circa: 1998
Condition: MNH
Notes:
By the mid-20th century, the entire native UK population of Cypripedium calceolus had been reduced to a single surviving specimen discovered in 1930 on a remote limestone slope in the Yorkshire Dales. This individual plant (often called "The Lady") was so precious that for over 60 years, its exact location was known only to a tiny "Cypripedium Committee." During its flowering season, wardens guarded it 24/7, sometimes sleeping in tents with tripwires set up around the plant to prevent collectors from stealing it.
In recent years, scientists at Kew Gardens successfully propagated seeds from "The Lady" and have reintroduced seedlings to secure secret sites across Northern England.