Flora Fauna of Morocco

Morocco Post issued  the stamp set features their flora fauna  on  May  28,2011. The issue comprises of two postage stamps depicted species of flora, Henna, and species of fauna, Turkey.

 

Turkey

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species.

Wild turkeys are omnivorous, foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed. Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs and a black body. Males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles.

Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of their ability to forage for different types of food. They prefer eating hard mast such as acorns, nuts, and various trees, including hazel, chestnut, hickory, and pinyon pine as well as various seeds, berries such as juniper and bearberry, roots and insects. Turkeys also occasionally consume amphibians and small reptiles such as lizards and snakes.  Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of grasses.

Males are polygamous, mating with as many hens as they can. Male wild turkeys display for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails and dragging their wings. This behavior is most commonly referred to as strutting. Their heads and necks are colored brilliantly with red, blue and white. The color can change with the turkey's mood, with a solid white head and neck being the most excited. 

 

Henna

Henna (Lawsonia inermis, also called henna tree) is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The henna plant is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australasia in semi-arid zones.

Henna is commercially cultivated in Morocco,Algeria, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey, Somalia and Sudan.

Use of henna for body art has enjoyed a recent renaissance due to improvements in cultivation, processing, and the emigration of people from traditional henna-using regions. Henna's coloring properties are due to lawsone, a burgundy organic compound that has an affinity for bonding with protein. Lawsone is primarily concentrated in the leaves, especially in the petioles of the leaf. Lawsone content in leaves is negatively correlated with the number of seeds in the fruits.

Commercially packaged henna, intended for use as a cosmetic hair dye, is available in many countries, and is now popular in India, as well as the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. Henna also acts as an anti-fungal and a preservative for leather and cloth. Henna flowers have been used to create perfume since ancient times, and henna perfume is experiencing a resurgence. Henna repels some insect pests and mildew.