Leontopodium alpinum

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"Edelweiss" redirects here. For other uses, see Edelweiss (disambiguation).
Edelweiss
Alpen Edelweiß, Leontopodium alpinum 2.JPG
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Gnaphalieae[1]
Genus:
Leontopodium
Species:
L. alpinum
Binomial name
Leontopodium alpinum

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Leontopodium alpinum, commonly called edelweiss (English pronunciation Listeni/ˈeɪdəlvaɪs/), is a well-known mountain flower, belonging to the Asteraceae (the daisy or sunflower family).

The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about 1,800–3,000 metres (5,900–9,800 ft) altitude. It is non-toxic, and has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The dense hair appears to be an adaptation to high altitudes, protecting the plant from cold, aridity and ultraviolet radiation.[2] As a scarce, short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas, the plant has been used as a symbol for alpinism, for rugged beauty and purity associated with the Alps and Carpathians, and as a national symbol especially of Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Romania. There is a folklore associated with the edelweiss in which it is stated that giving this flower as a gift to a loved one is a promise of dedication.

Names

The common name is from the German word "Edelweiß" as a compound of edel "noble" and weiß "white."[3]

Edelweiß was one of several regional names for the plant, and entered wide usage during the first half of the 19th century, in the context of early Alpine tourism.[4] Alternative names include Chatzen-Talpen ("cat's paws"), and the older Wullbluomen ("wool flower," attested in the 16th century).[5][6]

The scientific name is a latinisation of the Greek leontopódion, "lion's paw."[7]

The first scientific name for Leontopodium alpinum which was validly published according to the current binomial nomenclature is Gnaphalium alpinum in the first edition (1753) of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum.

Since 1822 (Cassini) Leontopodium has no longer been considered part of the Gnaphalium genus, but classified alongside it as a distinct genus within the Gnaphalieae tribe. In 2003, Leontopodium alpinum was re-classified as a subspecies of Leontopodium nivale. Thus, the alpine edelweiss is currently recognized as being divided into two subspecies, Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum (Cass.) Greuter and Leontopodium nivale subsp. nivale.

Description

Leaves and flowers are covered with white hairs and appear woolly (tomentose). Flowering stalks of edelweiss can grow to a size of 3–20 centimetres (1–8 in) in the wild, or, up to 40 cm (16 in) in cultivation. Each bloom consists of five to six small yellow clustered spikelet-florets (Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).) surrounded by fuzzy white "petals" (technically, bracts) in a double-star formation. The flowers bloom between July and September.

  • Early-season version with central floret-pods not yet fully developed. Specimen found in Slovakia's Tatra Mountains.

  • Typical mid-season appearance. Specimen found in Italy's Bergamo Alps.

  • Late season version with "fat" appearance from flowered-out central floret-pods and from longer petal-"fuzz".[8] Specimen found in the Stubai Alps.[9]

  • Botanic illustration.

Protection

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Leontopodium sp. is a protected plant in many countries, including Mongolia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Switzerland (since 1878), France, Norway, Iran, India (Zanskar region), Italy, Serbia, Malaysia (In Genting and Cameron Highlands), Indonesia (In Semeru Mountain), Germany, Spain (Ordesa National Park), Poland and Slovakia (Tatra National Park), Slovenia (in Gorizia and Gradisca since 1896, in Carniola since 1898), Austria (since 1886) and Romania (since 1933).

Cultivation

Leontopodium alpinum is grown in gardens for its interesting inflorescence and silver foliage.[10] The plants are short lived and can be grown from seed.[11]

Symbolic uses

No.5, Dianthus silvestris, and Gnaphalium leontopodium, (Edelweiss), chromolithograph by Helga von Cramm, with hymn by F. R. Havergal, 1877.

In the 19th century, the edelweiss became a symbol of the rugged purity of the Alpine region and of its native inhabitants.

Berthold Auerbach published a novel entitled Edelweiss in 1861, where the difficulty for an alpinist to acquire an edelweiss flower was exaggerated to the point of claiming that "the possession of one is a proof of unusual daring."[12] This idea at the time was becoming part of the popular mythology of early alpinism.[13] Auerbach's novel appeared in English translation in 1869, prefaced with a quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson,

"There is a flower known to botanists, one of the same genus with our summer plant called 'Life-Everlasting', a Gnaphalium like that, which grows on the most inaccessible cliffs of the Tyrolese mountains, where the chamois dare hardly venture, and which the hunter, tempted by its beauty and by his love (for it is immensely valued by the Swiss maidens), climbs the cliffs to gather, and is sometimes found dead at the foot, with the flower in his hand. It is called by botanists the Gnaphalium leontopodium, but by the Swiss EDELWEISS, which signifies NOBLE PURITY."


Before 1914
  • in the Swiss army, the highest ranks (brigadier general and higher) have badges in the form of edelweiss flowers, where other militaries would have stars
  • The edelweiss was established in 1907 as the sign of the Austrian-Hungarian alpine troops by Emperor Franz Joseph I. These original 3 Regiments wore their edelweiss on the collar of their uniform. During World War I (1915) the edelweiss was granted to the German alpine troops, for their bravery. Today it is still the insignia of the Austrian, Polish, Romanian, and German alpine troops
World Wars era
  • The song Es War Ein Edelweiss was written by Herms Niel for soldiers during World War II
  • The edelweiss was a badge of the Edelweiss Pirates: the anti-Nazi youth groups in the Third Reich. It was worn on the clothes (e.g. a blouse or a suit)
  • The edelweiss flower was the symbol of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS Gebirgsjäger, or mountain rangers, worn as a metal pin on the left side of the mountain cap, on the band of the service dress cap, and as a patch on the right sleeve. It is still the symbol of the mountain brigade in the German army today
  • The World War II Luftwaffe unit, Kampfgeschwader 51 (51st Bomber Wing) was known as the Edelweiss Wing
  • The edelweiss is represented as the favorite flower of Adolf Hitler, in the 1934 recording "Adolf Hitlers Lieblingsblume ist das schlichte Edelweiß", sung by Harry Steier[14]
After 1945

Symbolic use, image gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Edelweiss reported as common name alongside Alpen-Ruhrkraut in Kittel, Taschenbuch der Flora Deutschlands zum bequemen Gebrauch auf botanischen Excursionen (1837), p. 383.
  5. ↑ Aretius, Stocc-Hornii et Nessi [...] descriptio [...], a Benedicto Aretio [...] dictata., published with Valerii Cordi Simesusii Annotationes in Pedacii Dioscoridis Anazarbei de medica materia libros V, Basel (1561), ed. Bratschi (1992) in Niesen und Stockhorn. Berg-Besteigungen im 16. Jahrhunder.
  6. ↑ Schweizerisches Idiotikon 16.1997.
  7. ↑ λέων, πόδιον, πούς. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  8. ↑ NOTE: Sometimes mistaken for a different species (reference only).
  9. ↑ NOTE: Image courtesy of Bernd Haynold (reference only).
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Auerbach (1869), http://books.google.ch/books?id=4zcoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA77 p. 77]
  13. ↑ c.f. "chamois hunting" in New monthly magazine and universal register (1853) p. 166
  14. ↑ http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=1180704#p1180704
  15. ↑ NOTE: DAV on this pin means Deutscher Alpenverein not Disabled American Veterans for which such pins may be confused (reference only).
  16. ↑ NOTE: CIECM meaning Centre d' Instruction et d' Entraînement au Combat en Montagne (reference only).

External links

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