Let’s go to the movies.
Everybody will know this plant as “The Sound of Music’s” ticket to five Academy Awards, the plant that Maria and the Von Trapp family were so crazy about. It was also the favorite flower of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm and Ludwig II, who built those fairy-tale castles in Bavaria.
This plant is found only in Europe. It is strictly a high-elevation, mountain species, occurring from Ukraine west into the French Alps. It is very well-known as a native alpine wildflower in Austria, southern Germany and northern Italy, and it has developed quite a history of local folklore.
Beyond its medicinal qualities, it was early on used as a sort of love charm, and courageous young men or women would eagerly search it out for their sweet ones, proving their affection by plucking the beautiful treasure from steep, craggy ledges. This plant was also employed as a heraldic symbol, and was used to adorn military uniforms.
The flowers are small and yellowish, clustered into heads that are surrounded by a series of bract-like leaves. The clever botanists among you will realize that these features are characteristics of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), and sure enough, our little mystery plant is in that family.
This species has relatives in the Southeastern U.S., including our native pussy-toes, pearly everlasting and even rabbit-tobacco, which most people down our way are familiar with.
The leaves of our mysterious little alpine herb, and indeed the rest of the plant, are densely covered with soft, white hairs. This hairiness apparently serves a protective function, in reflecting the strong sunlight, and in insulating the flowers.
The effect of the bracts surrounding the heads produces a star-like pattern, and in the bright sunshine of the high Alps, it is a very striking sight.
As you might expect, the plants are becoming rare in Europe, and are now protected in several countries. There is some evidence that populations of this species in the wild are being forced to higher elevations, probably as a result of local climatic variation.
Otherwise, this species is suitable for cultivation, not so much here in central South Carolina, but in cooler areas. Maybe New England, that sort of thing.
This photograph came from a garden market a couple of years ago, when I was in Munich.
We hope Julie Andrews didn’t step on any of this stuff in that opening scene of her movie.
John Nelson is the curator of the A. C. Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina, in the Department of Biological Sciences. As a public service, the herbarium offers free plant identifications. For more information, visit www.herbarium.org, call 803-777-8196 or email email@example.com.
Answer: “Edelweiss,” Leontopodium alpinum