? Edelweiss
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Leontopodium Species: L. alpinum
Binomial name
Leontopodium alpinum Cass., 1822

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is one of the best known European mountain flowers. Download high resolution version (908x1045, 83 KB)Edelweiss, growing in the Julian Alps, Slovenia. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida- Dicots Liliopsida- Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Young castor oil plant showing its prominent two embryonic leaves (cotyledons), that differ from the adult leaves An example of a trimerous and non-eudicot flower: Magnolia Dicotyledons or dicots are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families Alseuosmiaceae Argophyllaceae Asteraceae - Daisies Calyceraceae Campanulaceae (incl. ... Diversity About 900 genera and 13,000 species Type Genus Aster L. Subfamilies Barnadesioideae Cichorioideae Tribe Arctotidae Tribe Cardueae Tribe Eremothamneae Tribe Lactuceae Tribe Liabeae Tribe Mutisieae Tribe Tarchonantheae Tribe Vernonieae Asteroideae Tribe Anthemideae Tribe Astereae Tribe Calenduleae Tribe Eupatorieae Tribe Gnaphalieae Tribe Helenieae Tribe Heliantheae Tribe Inuleae Tribe Plucheae... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Count Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini (1781-1832) was a famous French botanist and naturalist, who specialised in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) (then known as family Compositae). ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska (USA) has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation difference on Earth. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ...

Names and etymology

The name comes from German edel (meaning noble) and weiß (meaning white). The scientific name, Leontopodium means "lion's paw", being derived from Greek words leon and podion. In Europe two species or subspecies of Edelweiss can be found: Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum (formerly Leontopodium alpinum^{[citation needed]}) and Leontopodium nivale subsp. nivale. Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae. ...

Description

• The flowers can grow to a size of 3-20 cm.
• The leaves appear woolly because of the covering of white hairs.
• The flowers are felted and woolly with white hairs, with characteristic bloom consisting of five to six small yellow flower heads (5 mm) surrounded by leaflets in star form.
• The flowers are in bloom between July and September.
• The common European Edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum) can be found on rocky lawns, limestone rocks, and meadows (more rarely). It is unequally distributed and prefers rocky limestone places at 2000-2900 m altitude.
• The common European edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum) is distributed in the Alps, Pyrenees, Dinarides, Carpates, etc. The less common snow edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale subsp. nivale) can be found in Italy in the Appenines and in Bulgaria in the Stara Planina and the Pirin mountains.
• The genus has its origin in Central and East Asia. The Edelweiss can be found on high mountains in Europe, Asia.
• It is not toxic, but has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases.

Edelweiss is a protected plant in many countries, including Bulgaria, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovakia (Tatra National Park), Slovenia (since 1898), Austria (since 1886) and Romania (since 1933). The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Geographic scope of East Asia East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... Tatra National Park (Polish: ) is located in the southern part of Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodship, by the border with Slovakia. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

It usually grows in inaccessible places, which is why it is associated in Slovenia with mountaineering. Its white colour is considered in Switzerland a symbol of purity and due to its beauty, it got its Latin name, floarea reginei (Queen's flower).

Symbolic uses

• On the Austrian euro coins, a picture of Edelweiss is used on the two euro cent coins.
• On the Romanian 50 Lei banknote.
• In Austria, Edelweiss is also a brand of beer named after the flower.
• Edelweiss is the national flower of Switzerland and Austria.
• In its bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics the city of Salzburg uses a Edelweiss flower like the emblem.[[1]]
• Edelweiss Air, an international airline based in Switzerland, is named after the flower, which also appears in its logo.
• Edelweiss is a theme and song ("Edelweiss") in the musical and movie The Sound of Music, which takes place in Austria.
• The Edelweiss is the sign of German and Austrian alpine troops, granted to them in World War I for their bravery.

WWII Wehrmacht Gebirgsjäger Edelweiss cap badge

• During the Second World War, German soldiers occasionally pinned edelweiss flowers to their uniforms. The flower was supposed to be the sign of a "true soldier" in the Wehrmacht as it grows only in rugged terrain, generally above the tree line.
• The Edelweiss flower was in fact the symbol of Wehrmacht Gebirgsjäger, or mountain troops, worn as a metal pin on the left side of the cap and as a patch on the right sleeve.
• The rank insignia of Swiss generals has Edelweiss signs instead of stars. A Korpskommandant for example (equivalent to a Lieutenant General in other countries) wears three Edelweiss signs on his collar instead of three stars.
• This flower appears prominantly in the comic book adventure Asterix in Switzerland where the protagonists attempt to procure an Edelweiss for its use in an antidote.

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Leontopodium alpinum