The stamp on a first-day cover with a special cancellation dated 20 November 1974, “Ostrowskia magnifica,” from the series “Flowers of the Alpine Meadows of Central Asia,” was issued on 20 November 1974. Print run: 6,300,000 copies. Artist: V. Tikunov.
Ostrowskia magnifica is the only representative of the relict genus Ostrowskia. It is one of the most interesting plants of the bellflower family. It was discovered in the Darvaz Mountains (Tajikistan) in 1881 by Albert Regel, and in 1884 it was described by Eduard Regel and named in honor of Mikhail Nikolayevich Ostrovsky. Ostrowskia magnifica is endemic to the mountainous regions of Central Asia and adjacent areas of northern Afghanistan. It grows in walnut forests of the mid-mountain belt on clay-and-gravel soils among tall herbaceous vegetation, shrubs, and tree-like juniper.
Because of its high ornamental value, the plant has long been cultivated both in our country and abroad. The first to introduce it into cultivation was E. Regel, who sent several roots of the plant overseas. Ostrowskia was cultivated especially successfully in Switzerland, where in 1898 B. A. Fedchenko saw splendid plantings of this species near Geneva at the garden of the well-known horticulturist of that time, Marc Micheli. However, over time Ostrowskia, for unknown reasons, disappeared from cultivation. At present, the issue of cultivating Ostrowskia has become very urgent due to the need to preserve this rare plant. In cultivation it is propagated using tuber-like underground organs, and sometimes by seed.