page_title: Leontopodium nivale
section_title: Symbolic uses
hierarchical_section_title: Leontopodium nivale / Symbolic uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Scan (by me, R. de Salis, Rodolph (talk) 23:58, 16 March 2015 (UTC)), of No.5. Dianthus silvestris, Gnaphalium leontopodium, (Edelweiss), chromolithograph by Helga von Cramm, with hymn by F. R. Havergal, 1877.
context_page_description: Leontopodium nivale, commonly called edelweiss, is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae. The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about 1,800–3,000 metres altitude. It is non-toxic and has been used in traditional medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The dense hair appears to protect the plant from cold, aridity, and ultraviolet radiation. It is a scarce, short-lived flower found in remote mountain areas and 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 Romania, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Switzerland. According to folk tradition, giving this flower to a loved one is a promise of dedication.
context_section_description: In the 19th century, the edelweiss became a symbol of the rugged purity of the Alpine region and of its native inhabitants.
  In Berthold Auerbach's novel Edelweiss (1861), the difficulty for an alpinist to acquire an edelweiss flower was exaggerated to the point of claiming: "the possession of one is a proof of unusual daring." This idea at the time was becoming part of the popular mythology of early alpinism. 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 Edelweisse, 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 military branch badges 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 three 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, French, Slovenian, Polish, Romanian, and German alpine troops
  World Wars era
  The song Stelutis alpinis (Friulian for "alpine edelweiss"), written by Arturo Zardini when he was an evacuee due to World War I, is now considered the unofficial anthem of Friuli
  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
  After 1945
  The edelweiss flower is worn by troops in the 1st Battalion of the United States Army's 10th Special Forces Group, who adopted the symbol under the command of Colonel Aaron Bank after they occupied a Waffen SS officer school (Junkerschule) at Flint Kaserne.
  A song entitled "Edelweiss"  was written for Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical The Sound of Music (1959)
  Since 2002, the Austrian two-cent coin has depicted an edelweiss.
  From 1959 to 2001, the one schilling coin depicted a bunch of three flowers
  It is the symbol of the Bulgarian Tourist Union and the Bulgarian Mountain Control and Lifeguard Service
  It is also the symbol of the Swiss national tourism organisation
  It is featured on the Romanian fifty lei note
  An Austrian brand of beer is named Edelweiß
  The edelweiss is used in the logotypes of several alpine clubs such as the Deutscher Alpenverein (German Alpine Club), the Österreichischer Alpenverein (Austrian Alpine Club) or the Alpenverein Südtirol (South Tyrol Alpine Club). The edelweiss is also used in the logotype of the Union of International Mountain Leader Associations (UIMLA).
  The Südtiroler Volkspartei (South Tyrolean People's Party) uses the flower as their logo.
  In Asterix in Switzerland (1970), the plot is driven by a quest to find edelweiss in the Swiss mountains and bring a bloom back to Gaul to cure a poisoned Roman quaestor
  Edelweiss Air, an international airline based in Switzerland, is named after the flower, which also appears in its logo
  The musician Moondog composed the song "High on a Rocky Ledge" insp
caption: No.5, Dianthus silvestris, and Gnaphalium leontopodium, (Edelweiss), chromolithograph by Helga von Cramm, with hymn by F. R. Havergal, 1877.
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