This set of stamps has been issued on the occasion of the fourteenth World Orchid Conference which is being held in Glasgow from 28 April to 2 May 1993. For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see such a wealth of orchids displayed under one roof. These fascinating plants unite both amateur and professional in a bond which bridges oceans and politics.

FIRST STAMP: Dendrobium hellwigianum is widely distributed in the mountains of east New Guinea. The flowers of this species vary from greyish blue to purple, to occasionally white or pale yellow. The leaves are unusual in that they are almost round in cross-section.

SECOND STAMP: Paphiopedilum Maudiae 'Magnificum' is a particularly good clone of Paphiopedilum Maudiae. This is a man-made cross between two fine green- and white-flowered varieties – Paphiopedilum callosum var. sanderae from south-east Asia and P. lawrenceanum var. hyeanum from Borneo.

THIRD STAMP: Cymbidium lowianum has long, arching spikes with up to forty flowers on each. It was originally introduced from Burma in 1877.

FOURTH STAMP: Vanda Rothschildiana is a cross between Vanda coerulea, a blue-flowered species from the Himalayas and Thailand, and Vanda (Euanthe) sanderiana, a native of the Philippines which has pink flowers with brownish chequered markings.

FIFTH STAMP: Dendrobium vexillarius var. albiviride is also from New Guinea and is the most common of all the species in the section Oxyglossum. A fine primrose-coloured form of this species was named 'Queen Elizabeth' to commemorate a visit by Her Majesty to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh in 1985.