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Plant of the Week
Edelweiss
Latin: Leontopodium alpinum
Like millions of other American TV viewers, I recently sat
down and watched the 35th anniversary showing of The Sound of Music
-- one of the most beloved musicals of all time. One of the songs,
"Edelweiss" is about a wildflower. Being as most of us know only what we see
on TV, it might be interesting to look at this little plant and place it in
perspective.
Edelweiss is a small wooly perennial in the daisy family that grows about 6
inches tall when in full bloom. It grows throughout Europe in the Alps but
also extends into the Pyrenees and Caucasus regions. It grows in full sun in
alpine meadows having well drained calcareous soils.
In summer, a stem shoots from the basal rosette of wooly leaves bearing a
2-inch wide star-shaped cluster of white-wooly bracts clustered around a
central display of inconspicuous florets. The Latin name of the species
translates as "lion’s foot" for the wooly, star-like character of the
inflorescence.
Linc Foster, the now deceased godfather of American rock gardening says of
edelweiss, "this is the species that adorns the traveler’s hat" in Europe.
It is the national flower of Switzerland. Apparently, it is easy to dry and
has been collected extensively for that purpose, so is now a protected
species.
The song "Edelweiss" is not an adaptation of a native folk song of Austria
or any European country. It was the last song that Rogers and Hammerstein
wrote together in 1959 for the stage performance of their play, The Sound
of Music.
Hammerstein, who knew he was dying when he collaborated on the song, died
about nine months after completing the work. Of course the 1965 film version
of the performance where actor Christopher Plummer sang Edelweiss while
portraying Captain von Trapp burned this small plant into our collective
consciousness, but in reality most Europeans would have trouble picking it
out in a lineup.
This classic film, directed by Robert Wise and stared in by Julie Andrews,
has become a worldwide classic. A friend from Malaysia tells me that on
Children’s Day - the Asian equivalent of Mother’s or Father’s day in the US
-- the movie is broadcast every year and the family sits down to enjoy it
together.
The movie won five Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture when
it was released. But unlike many award winners, The Sound of Music
has those special qualities that make it a timeless classic.
Edelweiss seed is available and can be grown in the rock garden, but it’s
run will
probably be much shorter than the four years the movie ran in U.S. movie
houses when released. It germinates easily, but must be watered carefully to
keep it from drowning out as a seedling.
Once in the garden, edelweiss should be sited in a nook between rocks that
has a well drained rock garden soil consisting of five parts coarse grit,
one part crushed limestone and one part compost. Then, provided the humidity
doesn’t turn the plant to mush in August, it should struggle along for a
year or two despite our summer heat.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
December 22, 2000
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