Intl. Agricultural Exhibition in Meknes

Number by catalogue:  Yvert: BF32   Scott: 1038  

Perforation: Harrow   Perforation type: 12 ¾x13 ¼

Subject:

3.25 dirhams. Argan seeds* and hand mill for obtaining of argan oil

Additional:

*The Argan (Argania spinosa) is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco and to the Algerian region of Tindouf in the western Mediterranean region. It is the sole species in the genus Argania.

Argan grows to 8-10 metres high, and live to 150–200 years old. They are thorny, with gnarled trunks. The leaves are small, 2–4 cm long, oval with a rounded apex. The flowers are small, with five pale yellow-green petals; flowering is in April. The fruit is 2–4 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad, with a thick, bitter peel surrounding a sweet-smelling but unpleasantly flavoured layer of pulpy pericarp. This surrounds the very hard nut, which contains one (occasionally two or three) small, oil-rich seeds. The fruit takes over a year to mature, ripening in June to July of the following year.

The process of obtaining argan oil can be seen in the photo

Size (of sheet, booklet) mm: 140x110