– Event highlights – – Panels – The Botanical Paradox A1

Excursion The queen of the mountain flowers, and its bota- In search of the Star of the nical (), have not been ex- Sunday 24 July, botanical excursion in the Val de Bagnes tensively studied. Their classification is only just Information : Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on : 022 418 51 00 beginning to be mastered. Registration : M. R. Tripod on : 022 341 01 93 or by email : [email protected] Deadline for registration : 30 June at the latest (number of places limited) The collections presented in Botanical gardens Cost : adults : 75.- Frs per person, children : 6 - 16 years 45.- Frs are unfortunately often dubious as to their iden- Organisation : Société genevoise d’horticulture, M. R. Tripod tification. The species are probably hybridised and the collection of seeds from their original School visits biotopes is extremely rare for Himalayan species. In May, June and September, guided visits on the themes of the exhibition. Free for Geneva schools. Information and registration : Tel. : +(41) 22 418 51 55, e-mail : [email protected] mentioning ‘accueil de classe’. Registration to be made at least two weeks before the requested date

La toison des neiges (The Fleece of the Snows) Original 3D Film produced for the exhibition Film director : Philippe Nicolet Screened daily in 3D. Duration : 10 minutes 47 seconds Botanic Shop - Villa Le Chêne : 10.30-12.00 & 13.00-18.30

Complete programme : http ://ville-ge.ch/cjb/

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Geography of the Edelweiss Companion A2 & Biotopes A3 Geographical Areas

The Edelweiss belongs to the large Aster family () which The Edelweiss is generally found in the subalpine and alpine vegeta- has around 25,000 species spread across 1500 different botanical tion belts, at an altitude of between 2000 and 3000 m. In terms of genera. The genus Leontopodium comprises about 30 to 40 species, its global distribution (see section Classification and Distribution), mainly found in Asia (Himalayas, Altai Mountains, Siberia, Japan and the highest locality is at 3140 m above Zermatt (Valais, Switzerland), China), with a major centre of biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau. and the lowest known is at 220 m in .

An ancestral form of Leontopodium reached the Alps after the The Edelweiss prefers stony, sunny grasslands and exposed lime- Quaternary glaciations and differentiated into two species that are stone rocks that are often sheer and inaccessible. However, it is not very distinct from the other representatives of the genus and which uncommon to find it on the edge of meadows. remained confined to the mountains of central and western Europe : – Leontopodium alpinum Cass. The terraced structure of the environments suited to the Edelweiss (Pyrenees, Jura Mountains, Alps, Ligurian Apennines, northern offer a diversity of microclimates favourable to numerous species Balkans, Carpathian Mountains), with sparse, whitish down. of the European alpine complex, some of which are highly localised, – (Ten.) Huet rare or threatened. (Apennines : Abruzzo, Dinaric Alps : Shljeb near Ipek, South- East Balkans : Pirin Mountains) with dense, greyish down.

Certain botanists have divided them into two sub-species Leonto- podium alpinum ssp. alpinum and Leontopodium alpinum ssp. nivale. However, recent morphological and molecular research indicates that they should be considered as two distinct species (Blöch et al., 2010; Greuter, 2003).

Fig. 5 Fig. 7 Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Edelweiss with Blue Moor Grass (Ses- Edelweiss with the Alpine Aster (Aster World distribution of the genus Leonto- Leontopodium alpinum Cass., in the Alps. leria caerulea, Poaceae) whose small, alpinus, Asteraceae) in the dry limestone podium (taken from Meusel, H. & E. J. compact spikes are seen here against grasslands of Sesleria Jäger, 1992. Vergleichende Chorologie Fig. 4 the sky (phytosociological alliance of der zentraleuropäischen Flora) Leontopodium nivale (Ten.) Huet, in the Seslerion) Fig. 8 Apennines (photo : Giovanni Galetti) Woodland Pink ( sylvestris, Fig. 2 Fig. 6 Caryophyllaceae) Distribution of Leontopodium alpinum Edelweiss with Blue Moor Grass (Sesle- (blue) and Leontopodium nivale (yellow) ria caerulea, Poaceae)

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The Asiatic species which are morphologically and genetically The variation of Edelweiss within a population is considerable. The closest to the two western European species are : Leontopodium Edelweiss is not a true flower! It is, in effect, made up of 100 to 1000 linearifolium and L. leontopodinum (northern China and Tibet), L. minute flowers grouped into 2-12 capitula (Latincaput = head), sur- souliei (Himalayas, China, eastern Russia, Kamchatka), L. himalaya- rounded by 5-15 white downy , the whole structure simulating a num (Himalayas), L. calocephalum (Himalayas), L. artemisiifolium large flower to attract insects. and L. ochroleucum (Mongolia, Himalayas). Research has shown that the amino acids which make up the Edelweiss nectar are specifically necessary for the metabolism of the flies which ensure 88% of their pollination.

As for the downy bracts, they play the double role of visual attractant and landing pad. Fig. 10 Fig. 14, 15 Spatial phylogentic representation of Leontopodium stracheyi : The distribu- the genus Leontopodium showing the tion of this species is from the central groups of species, in particular the Himalayas to the South and East of Tibet European species (A) and their geneti- and into the West of Sichuan (China) cally close cousins that originate from Mongolia (B) Fig. 16, 17 Leontopodium himalayanum : This Fig. 11 species is found only in the central Phylogenetic tree, taken from the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesch (India) same article as the diagram above. This to southeastern Tibet and the northwest method of presenting and classifying of Yunnan (Southeast China) species forms part of the new taxo- nomy. For the genus Leonotopodium it shows, amongst other things, a common ancestor for the European species (A : L. alpinum and L. niviale) and a group of species established in Mongolia and central China (B : L. campestre and L. Fig. 18, 19, 20 leontopoides) Attracted by the scent of honey, and of the transpiration of the Edelweiss, Fig. 12, 13 different insects (fly on the left, hoverfly Leontopodium jacotianum : This on the right) thus pollinate the flowers species comes from the Himalayas and which are also visited by small arachnids Herngduan Shan to eastern Kashmir and (a European garden spider on the left, Sichuan (southwestern China) Red Spider mites on the right).

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The fruits of the Edelweiss are the seeds that are rigid and indehis- Over the centuries … cent (which do not open), about 1.5 mm long and brown in colour, a that knows how to keep its secrets known as achenes. 15th c. First illustration in the Codex Bellunensis They are surmounted by a tuft (a kind of small parachute) called a 1571 First botanical description by Matthiolus pappus, corresponding to the dried, white, denticulate bristles sur- (Leontopodium verum) rounding the flowers. This facilitates the wind-dispersal of the seeds. 1753 Carl von Linné names it leontopodium in his Species Plantarum A pollinated flower only produces a single seed. It requires 20 to 30 1822 Cassini gives it its current name in his Dictionary of the days to reach maturity. Natural Sciences 1856 Leontopodium nivale is renamed by the Huet du Pavillon brothers in their Plantae neapolitanae 1911 Gustave Beauverd, Curator of the Geneva Herbarium, devotes a monograph to the genus Leontopodium (19 species) 1928 Handel-Mazzetti, an Austrian botanist, describes 41 species in a new monograph 2010/11 a molecular study at the University of Vienna continues this research and recognizes 31 species in the genus Leontopodium

Fig. 21 The Edelweiss at high altitude Fig. 24 Fig. 26 First illustration of the Edelweiss in the Self-portrait of Gustave Beauverd Fig. 22 Codex Bellunensis (fol. 35v), a herbarium (1867-1942) Edelweiss seeds on Graph paper with colour plates from the 15th century now at the British Library, London. Fig. 27 Fig. 23 Handel-Mazzetti (1882-1940) When the seeds are ripe, the denticulate Fig. 25 bristles open up to form a parachute Portrait of Alexandre Henri Gabriel de before being dispersed. Cassini (1781-1832).

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In order to withstand extreme climatic conditions, each organ of the Over the past twenty years, the Edelweiss has Edelweiss has developed its own specialised characteristics, from the seeds to the root system. and including the stems, leaves and gone from the status of an extremely rare, mythi- flowers. cal and ‘over-picked’ plant to that of a domesti-

– Anti-UV down (microstructure of hairs) cated one, rendering useless any mass collecting – Hairy leaves and stem to protect against evapotranspiration and permitting the popular commercialisation of – Cold-resistant thick sap – Rosette of protective leaves at the crown this once threatened alpine species. It can now – Thick and resistant rhizome take pride of place on our balconies and in our floral bouquets… There is significant variation in the Edelweiss within populations.

Fig. 28 Scanning Electron Microscope picture of the filaments covering the Edelweiss hair layer. The substructure of the filaments consistes of parallel fibres of approxima- tely 0.18 mm in diameter, which corres- pond to the absorption wavelength of UV radiation.

Fig. 29 The different organs of the Edelweiss.

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