Common name: Himalayan Edelweiss
Botanical name: Leontopodium himalayanum Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
Himalayan Edelweiss is a tufted perennial plant, a close cousine of the
famous Edelweiss. It has several densely
woolly haired stems, 5-15 cm high. The root-stock is branched above,
covered with old leaf-bases. Densely white-woolly, linear acute leaves are
1.5-3 cm long. Basal leaves are broader, in lax rosette. Flower-heads are
white, and turn brown as they age. They occur in globular, dense,
flat-topped clusters at the top of stems, 2 cm across. These are surrounded
by much longer white-woolly leaves, just below them, spreading to 3-5 cm.
The bracts are papery, purple-tipped. Himalayan Edelweiss is seen in the
Himalayas at altitudes of 3000-4500 m. Flowering: July-October.
| Photographed in Pabbar Valley, Himachal Pradesh. |
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