edelweiss

edelweiss (ā`dəlvīs), perennial aster plant (genus Leontopodium) found at high altitudes in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and South America. It is about 6 in. (15.2 cm) tall with woolly-white floral leaves and small heads of yellow disk flowers surrounded by silvery bracts. Despite its inconspicuous appearance it is esteemed (chiefly by the Swiss) as a symbol of purity and inaccessibility. In Switzerland it is protected by law. Probably because of its associations it has some popularity as a rock garden and pot plant. Edelweiss is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae.

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edelweiss

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum)

(credit: Siegfried Eigstler—Shostal)

Perennial plant (Leontopodium alpinum) of the composite family, native to alpine areas of Europe and South America. It has 2–10 yellow flower heads in a dense cluster. Below these flower heads, 6–9 lance-shaped, woolly, white leaves are arranged in the form of a star. Most varieties are ornamentals.

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edelweiss

of Switzerland. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 490]

See : Flower Or Plant, National