Edelweiss seed Leontopodium alpinum
LATIN NAME: Leontopodium alpinum
COMMON NAME: Edelweiss
The edelweiss holds its small, white, woolly, star-shaped flowers above the felted, grey-green leaves, and the whole plant stands in the low, silvery clumps. The low, clump-forming, perennial plant carries the narrow, lance-shaped, densely felted, silvery-grey leaves and the small, white, woolly, star-shaped flower heads with the pointed bracts through the early summer, one of the fine, quiet, silvery sights of the rock garden, drawing the bees. The flowers have a very long record as the fine, enduring, alpine flowers of the high meadows, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the rock garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, sharp-draining ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The edelweiss is a historic subject of the plant science, and the woolly heads keep showing up in the work on the high-mountain plants. The way the small, white, woolly, star-shaped flower heads form above the felted leaves has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the high-mountain plants, the woolly bracts and the members of the daisy family. The silvery felt and the low habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the edelweiss is a regular subject of the work on the woolly heads of the high world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The edelweiss is a fine, quiet plant of the rock garden and the study collection. The small, white, woolly, star-shaped flower heads with the pointed bracts open through the early summer, one of the fine, quiet, silvery sights of the rock garden, drawing the bees, and the felted, silvery-grey leaves carry the frosty look of the high meadows. It is one of the fine choices for the rock garden, the scree bed and the study collection, and it has been written up in the botanical and the horticultural papers for the woolly heads and the high-mountain ways. It is a fine, quiet plant of the open, sunny, sharp-draining garden.
Give the young plants the sharp-draining soil and the open, sunny spot, and the silvery heads will rise in the summers to come.
To grow the edelweiss from seed, sow the tiny, brown seeds across the surface of the tray of gritty, sharp-draining soil, without covering them, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the sharp-draining ground, the silvery heads will rise in the summers to come.
Uses: Medicinal/Industrial
Edelweiss has silvery foliage with white, star-shaped flowers in June through August
edelweiss has important medicinal and cosmetic uses, and is now grown as a cultivated crop in Europe for those purposes. Traditionally, it was used as a tea to treat diarrhea and dysentery, and cooked in milk with honey and butter. It was also used to treat respiratory problems, including tuberculosis. But in the future it is expected that the cosmetic industry will employ edelweiss to neutralize free radicals and prevent the formation of superoxides — compounds associated with the signs of aging such as wrinkles. Due to its bioflavonoid content, the herb also strengthens the walls of capillaries and veins and can be used to treat varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and other vascular problems associated with aging. Has exciting commercial potential. Easy to grow in any well-drained sunny location. Ht. 15cm/6in.