Definitive Flower Stamps of Canada

In year 2010, Canada Post issued the definitive stamps consist of four stamps that feature orchid flowers in one miniature sheet format. The depicted species are Striped coralroot, Giant Helleborine , Rose Pogonia , Grass Pink. 

Striped Coralroot or Corallorhiza striata is a species of orchid that native to much of North America, especially Canada and the northern and western United States.

It is a member of the coniferous understory flora, where it lives in the layer of decaying plant matter on the ground obtaining nutrients from fungi via mycoheterotrophy.

This coralroot has an erect stem which may be red, pink, purple, or yellow-green to almost white. It is mostly made up of an inflorescence of orchid flowers.

Each flower is an open array of sepals and similar-looking petals which may be pink or yellowish and have darker pink or maroon stripes. 

Inside the flower is a column formed from the fusion of male and female parts, which may be spotted with purple or red. The fruit is a capsule one or two centimeters long.

Giant Helleborine or Epipactis gigantea is a species of orchid  that native to western North America from western Canada to central Mexico.

Epipactis gigantea is an erect perennial reaching anywhere from 30 centimeters to one meter in height. Its stems have wide or narrow lance-shaped leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long and inflorescences of two or three showy orchids near the top.

The fruit is a hanging capsule 2 or 3 centimeters long which contains thousands of tiny seeds. This plant grows in wet areas in a variety of habitats, including riverbanks, hot springs, and meadows.

Rose Pogonia or Pogonia ophioglossoides is a species of orchid occurring from central Canada to the east-central and eastern United States. It is the type species of the genus Pogonia.

It is pollinated by bees. This species occurs in wet habitats. In the north, the habitat is typically fens but sometimes also bogs.

Grass Pink or Calopogon, like many other orchids, is an indicator species for good remnant hydrology. This means that their presence is an indication of high-quality ground and surface water.

Most species of calopogon frequent wet, sunny swales, bogs, and the edges of marshy areas, and associates with ferns, sedges, grasses and forbs.

Grass pinks (genus Calopogon) are a group of terrestrial orchids (family Orchidaceae) One distinguishing feature of the grass pinks is that, unlike most orchids, they are non-resupinate.

The lip of calopogon is on the top of the flower, not the bottom, as is common with most other genera. The brushy, yellow protuberances on the lip are also designed to attract pollinators, but they only tempt without providing a reward