CONGO REP.

120 fr: Castor oil bean plant, of the spurge family. Growing to 5 meters tall, this plant produces distinctive red capsules containing seeds. Castor oil is a slow burning fuel and has been used as far back as ancient Egypt to light lamps.

CONGO REP.

300 fr: Hooded Vultures, from a 1993 birds issue. This species, widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, is tame and lives in close proximity to human dwellings, earning it the nickname "garbage collector."

CONGO Rep. (Brazzaville)

270fr: 3rd Pan-African Music Festival, held in Brazzaville in August, 2001. This artistic stamp design incorporates the map of the African continent framed in drums and festive colors and symbols, with three musicians within the borders of the map.

GUINEA / Guinee

300fr: this 2001 issue is interesting because it shows a local train which was or is in use within Guinea

GUINEA / Guinee (Conakry)

750 fr: this stamp was cancelled in the capital in 2003; it shows a sailing vessel and a knot, part of a series showing historical ships; though attractive, this is an example of Guinea's long history of stamp issues with little relevance to local culture.

GUINEA-BISSAU

12,000p: this 1996 shows a local wasp species in a simple format. This stamp is denominated in pesos, but since c. 2000, Guinea-Bissau has adopted the CFA franc as its currency to facilitate regional trade

IVORY COAST / Cote d'Ivoire

300+20fr (semi-postal stamp): 2002 World Cup games, held in Korea/Japan. The backdrop of the stadium and players shows flags of participating nations in this colorful issue.

IVORY COAST / Cote d'Ivoire

400+20 fr (semi-postal): this 2001 issue celebrates the World Cup elimination round held in Japan/Korea

GUINEA / Guinee'

100 fg: Aviation issue of 1995, showing a PUP 150

MOROCCO / Maroc

3,25: 50th Anniv. or Diplomatic Relations with China, showing exquisite Moroccan and Chinese pottery side by side, superimposed against the deep red flags of both countries; issued in 2008

MAURITANIA / Mauritanie

5um: a delightful artistic rendering of the "seance du the" or tea serving, an elaborate everyday ritual in the region

MOROCCO / Maroc

2,50 Erodium sebaceum, a wild geranium from Morocco's 2006 flora issue

MOROCCO / Maroc

2,50 Swordfish, a highly migratory gamefish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and prized by trophyhunters

NIGER

500 fr: this oversized, gold foil stamp shows a state portrait of Ibrahim Bare, President of the Niger Republic

GABON

260fr: Sino-Gabonese Cooperation issue of 2004, showing flags of PRC and Gabon, and Pres. Hu Jintao and (late) Omar Bongo in foreground

GABON

125fr, 225fr, 260fr: this wildlife sheetlet of 2000 is delightful, and shows some of this forested country's mega-predators: the leopard, fishing eagle and lion

COMOROS / Iles Comores

100fr This 1983 landscape issue shows an island sunset in golden hues.

SWAZILAND

E1 Purple Crested Lourie: this stamp is part of an issue showing several tauraco species, a family of frugivorous, arboreal birds native only to Africa