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Edelweiss flowers in the Caucasus mountains. Why didn't Edelweiss bloom? Mountain plants: mountain lavender flower

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Scenario

literary and musical evening


Materials

for the regional competition “Greatness of Feat”

Explanatory note

The day will come with a decisive blow

The people will go into battle for the last time,

And then we will say that it is not without reason

Here they fought to the death for the Caucasus.

(from a wartime song)

Last Velika Patriotic War was a severe test for our people. Among major events war, the battle for the Caucasus occupies a prominent place. The German high command developed a plan for the direct capture of the Caucasus, which received the code name “Edelweiss”. In the fight against the fascist invaders, Hitler’s plans to seize the richest grain regions of the North Caucasus, sources of oil and other types of strategic raw materials were thwarted. The victory of the Soviet army in the battle for the Caucasus was the result of the enormous efforts of the entire people, the peoples of the Caucasus. The victory is a wonderful example of the patriotism and mass heroism of soldiers. From generation to generation we carry the memory of the war, honor veterans, remember those killed in the war.

Literary and musical evening, on the eve of the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War, “Why didn’t Edelweiss bloom in the flower growers’ club, became another thread of memory heroic war. An exhibition with the same name of the evening was arranged, where books of military operations, heroes who fought on the passes of the Caucasus Range were located: Klukhorsky, Naursky, Marukhsky, etc.

This scenario can also be used when conducting lessons of courage for young people, evenings - meetings designed to promote patriotism and study of one’s land.

(The appendices contain photographs and photo chronicles..)

Hall decoration: exhibition “Why Edelweiss did not bloom.”

(Nature music sounds)

Presenter 1: On the top of the cliff where the mountain was lost

Under the curly clouds
The edelweiss flower grew and the winds played
Its thin petals.
N. Cameron

Presenter 2: Hello dear guests, today we dedicate the club meeting to the rare edelweiss flower and the failed German operation to capture the Caucasus, which bore the code name “Edelweiss”.

Presenter 1: Guarded as rare view edelweiss is the legendary flower of lovers. It belongs to the Asteraceae family. This plant reaches a height of 10-15 cm. Graceful stems are crowned with proud, star-shaped flowers - the inflorescences of the basket are framed by horizontal pubescent bracts that look like stars. In June-July, on the mountain slopes, at an altitude of about 1800 m, these beautiful flowers bloom, which, against the backdrop of sparse vegetation, seem like just a whim of a wizard who, on a whim, planted this fluffy miracle of nature here. In fact, everything is much simpler - edelweiss prefers to grow in soil rich in limestone and shale. Edelweiss is propagated by seeds or by dividing rhizomes in spring or autumn. Alpine edelweiss grows on rocks and cornices of the Alpine mountains. Representatives of this species form bushes various sizes and differ in shades of colors. Alpine edelweiss blooms in June-August. Edelweiss Siberian grows in the mountains of Siberia, Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. His bushes bigger size than alpine edelweiss, but the flowers are smaller. It also blooms in June-September, but blooms little. Edelweiss also grows in our Caucasus Mountains Oh.

Presenter 2: There are many legends about edelweiss - the “silk flower”, as it is called in the Carpathians. Here is one of them. A long time ago, when there were still noble knights and unapproachable princesses in the world, it so happened that one powerful king decided to marry off his beautiful daughter. But the girl turned out to be capricious and rejected all applicants. Finally, the father got angry and announced that if his daughter did not become more prudent, he would marry her to the first person he met. And then the girl came up with a trick: “Father, I was stupid! I will definitely get married. But for the one who brings me as a gift... the edelweiss star flower!
After this, hopeful suitors began to flock to the royal castle again. But as soon as they saw the inaccessible mountain where the edelweiss grew, they got scared and went home. There were also daredevils who tried in vain to get to the star flower and found their death by falling down a steep slope. This went on for many years.

Presenter 1:And then one day a brave knight, having heard about the proud beauty and her whim, decided to try his luck. He started climbing the highest mountain. He walked for a long time to the top, his arms and legs were bleeding, but he still got to the snow-white edelweiss growing on the ledge, plucked it and hid it on his chest. When he went down, he reached the royal castle and presented beautiful flower princess, her heart melted, and she fell in love with the knight. But the knight never became her husband, because she was old enough to be his grandmother - for so long no one managed to fulfill her order! Punished for her cunning and cruelty, the princess continued to love the knight until the end of her days. And from the moment he picked the edelweiss, he did not know defeat in any of his endeavors. No wonder people say: the one who picks an edelweiss will find luck and the heart of the one to whom he gives this star flower.

(music fades out)

Presenter 2: This one is legendary mountain flower– edelweiss became a symbol of the German code operation “Edelweiss” to seize our territories.

(an excerpt from the song “Holy War” is heard)

Presenter 1: At the beginning of 1942, Soviet military intelligence did not yet have information about the existence of the Operation Edelweiss plan, but the information that Hitler was planning to deliver the main blow in the direction of the Caucasus in the summer of 1942 was confirmed by reports from many sources. These data were supplemented by operational intelligence information, which began to record the increased concentration of German troops on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front. The offensive in the Caucasus developed quickly.

Presenter 2: It was August 1942. Under the pressure of a superior and well-armed enemy, our army was forced to retreat, leaving areas of our Motherland. At the beginning of August 1942, large forces of the German army broke through to North Caucasus. Danger looms over Stavropol. By the end of August 1942, the Nazis completely occupied the Stavropol Territory. Hitler wanted to destroy the Caucasus by capturing Black Sea Fleet, deprive the country of Grozny, Maikop and Baku oil, take possession of the oil riches of the Middle East and richest resources India. In order to overcome the Caucasus Mountains, the 49th Mountain Rifle Corps was created (composed of the 1st and 4th Mountain Rifle, 97th and 101st Light Infantry Divisions). Among them was Hitler's pride - the 1st Mountain Infantry Division "Edelweiss", which was trained in the Alps. Hitler's command had high hopes for her. The 4th Mountain Rifle Division, for which the mountains were their native element, had considerable experience in combat operations in the mountains. All corps units were equipped with special mountain equipment and weapons.

Presenter 1: Concentrating in the area of ​​Nevinnomyssk and Cherkessk, the well-prepared 49th fascist corps, divided into separate detachments, rushed to the Klukhorsky, Marukhsky, Naursky passes of the Main Caucasus Range in mid-August. They managed to capture almost all the passes in the central part of the ridge and hoisted a banner with a swastika on the top of Elbrus on August 21. Berlin newspapers triumphantly reported: “The conquered Elbrus crowns the end of the fallen Caucasus.” The fascist flag did not have to fly for long on the highest mountain in the Caucasus.

Presenter 2: At the passes, soldiers of 3 regiments and one rifle division began to die. At an altitude of 3000 meters, in stubborn battles with enemy forces superior in armament and numbers, with a lack of weapons, without supply bases, experiencing a shortage of ammunition, food, being almost completely cut off from outside world, our troops showed miracles of heroism. Fierce fighting took place at the Klukhor, Marukh, and Naur passes.

Ridges rise behind the ridges,

Their crest is cut with teeth,

The eagle descended from the heights

Caucasian sky on the rocks.

For the native land - fire! –

It rushed from heights to gorges.

For the sun of the Caucasus - fire!

And the mines were landing on the target...

M. Kalachinsky

Presenter 1: Long battles took place at the Marukh Pass, and the Marukh Glacier, crisscrossed with treacherous, snow-covered abysses, changed hands 25 times. By the evening of September 5, 1942, the enemy brought the main forces of the Edelweiss Alpine Division into battle and, with the support of artillery and aviation, captured the Marukh Pass. In stubborn battles, the Red Army soldiers gained a foothold on this line on September 6. Victory did not come immediately. Throughout September there were fierce battles with varying success. Were especially stubborn offensive operations for height 1176 and the gates of the Marukh Pass, which began on September 9, and ended on October 25, 1942, when these heights were taken by the forces of the first battalion of the 810th regiment. Battalions of the 155th and 107th Rifle Brigades also took part in them. It should be noted that the 107th battalion was transferred to the Marukh Pass after it had previously distinguished itself at the Klukhor Pass.

Presenter 2: This battalion was a threat to the Germans in subsequent battles in winter period. She repeatedly rescued the regiment in moments of mortal danger. One December day, a large group of Germans was noticed gathering in a narrow gorge. The mortar men immediately opened massive fire, and the enemy was destroyed. But, unfortunately, one day an avalanche hit the battalion. They were quickly helped by the nearby soldiers of the 155th battalion, who with great difficulty managed to extract several from under the snow; the rest of the soldiers remained forever in the glaciers. The enemy continued to hold the Marukh Pass until January 1943. ... The shooting either died down or intensified, and the top of Kara-Kaya was covered in light, flying snow. The regiment, or rather what was left of it, launched a new attack. The enemy could not withstand the blow and began to retreat towards the pass. In this battle, the advanced detachment of Lieutenant Melnik especially distinguished himself. He marked the beginning of the defeat of the enemy group that had broken through in the Marukh Gorge. Then the success of the detachment was consolidated by the main forces of the regiment. The defenders of the pass took up an insurmountable defense for the enemy. The path to the Germans into the Marukh Gorge was closed forever.

Presenter 1: The defenders of the passes had three enemies: the Nazis, cold and hunger. It was especially difficult for those who were at the pass itself. The winter in the mountains was harsh. Despite the fact that aviation operations in the mountains, frequent rains, fog, and snowfalls were extremely difficult, the pilots provided great assistance to ground troops in supplying them with ammunition, food, and evacuating the seriously wounded. Showing courage and heroism, the pilots of the 588th female night bomber regiment (PO-2), commanded by a major, a native of our Stavropol Territory, also provided great support.

Presenter 2: Our glorious climbers played a significant role in the battles on the passes of the Main Caucasus Range. When hostilities broke out here, special knowledge of the mountains and techniques for moving in them were needed. A significant number of mountaineering instructors and masters of this sport were sent to the Caucasus. On February 17, 1943, fighter climbers hoisted Soviet flags on the top of Elbrus. In the sky-high heights of the Caucasus, thousands of heroes performed outstanding feats, many gave their lives.

Night.

Mountains.

In the gorge

And cold and darkness.

And there, at the top,

A formidable enemy has settled down.

It needs to be reset

At any cost.

There are a lot of shell casings on the glaciers. They are living witnesses of fierce battles.

Edelweiss is an inconspicuous mountain flower, but as a symbol of purity, courage and endurance, it is surrounded by numerous legends. He “climbs” into the mountains and feels great at an altitude of more than 5 kilometers. Many lovers died trying to get it for their chosen one. To reject the young man who gave this flower was considered the height of indecency. This “climber” is found only in Eurasia; its different species live in the mountains of Europe, South-East Asia, Japan and Russia - in the mountains of Siberia and the Far East. It does not grow in the Caucasus and Western Asia. On Elbrus, Kazbek and in the Crimea, the Bieberstein flower is found, which is often confused with edelweiss.

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    General characteristics of the genus Leontopodium

    The genus Edelweiss includes more than 30 species of perennials. herbaceous plants family Asteraceae. Its description always begins with inflorescences - these are baskets, often twisted into balls or forming semi-umbrellas, less often single, white or yellow color. They are surrounded by bracts covered with tomentose pubescence. The inflorescences and bracts together almost always form a “star” shape. Edelweiss has flowers of four genera:

    • sterile staminate, or bisexual - with a five-lobed tubular-funnel-shaped corolla, stamens and a solid apical villous pistil with an aborted ovary and club-shaped swollen pappus bristles;
    • pistillate - fertile, with a thread-like or narrow-tubular 3-4 incised corolla, without stamens, with a style without villi and a honey gland at the base, but with a deeply bipartite stigma and non-thickened tuft bristles;
    • bisexual - fertile, with a tubular-funnel-shaped corolla, with developed stamens, a villous pistil at the apex with a bipartite stigma and a honey gland at the base, with unthickened or slightly thickened pappus bristles;
    • asexual honey-bearing plants - with a tubular-funnel-shaped 4-5-lobed corolla, aborted anthers and ovary, with a solid style without villi and stigma and a highly developed honey gland.

    Usually the central flowers in the basket are staminate, and the few peripheral ones are pistillate. Bisexual and honey-bearing types are rare. It blooms in July-August and produces a fruit - an achene - in September. Sometimes plants are without a stem, but with tufts or rosettes of leaves, more often with a normal stem and simple vaginal or semi-petiolate leaves alternately located on it. The shape of the plates can be oblong-obovate, spatulate or linear. They are more hairy below than above. Edelweiss is fixed in the substrate with the help of a rhizome, from which thin hair-like roots and shoots extend.

    Alpine edelweiss (lat. L. alpinum Colm)

    Herbaceous perennial, symbol of the Alps and national flower Switzerland. In the wild it grows in alpine and subalpine steppe regions European mountains to an altitude of 3400 m. Under optimal weather conditions, it blooms from late July to mid-August. A plant with snow-white, thick tomentose-pubescent apical leaves on top, forming a regular multi-rayed “star” 2-3.5 cm in diameter. Their tips are dark brown. The flowers consist of thick-tomented, single-colored bracts, wide at the base and narrowed at the end. More often they are collected in an inflorescence, less often solitary.

    A white-haired simple stem from 3 to 15 cm tall with 5-8 leaves forms single, less often tufted sods from flowering stems and a few rosettes of leaves. The leaves are tongue-shaped or spatulate-lanceolate, green above, glabrous or cobwebby-pubescent, densely white-tomentose below.

    This is a rare protected species and is successfully cultivated for commercial sale in Southern Finland and Switzerland. Edelweiss often decorates rock gardens and alpine slides and keeps well in dry bouquets. The flower is used in folk medicine. Tinctures and decoctions from it are used as a sedative, antirheumatic, expectorant, astringent, tonic, and rejuvenating agent.

    In culture, it is propagated vegetatively by parts of the rhizome in order to avoid loss of characteristics of the variety and species. It is planted in spring or autumn. Seeds are sown in spring in room conditions and grow like this until autumn. Edelweiss can grow well in one place for no more than three years. Then it needs to be transferred to new areas with suitable soil.

    E. Palibina (lat. L. palibinianum)

    A species close to alpine edelweiss grows in the mountains of Siberia, the Far East, Korea, Manchuria, and Mongolia. Its bushes are larger, 25-35 cm in height, with 1-5-sided straight strong stems, but the flowers are somewhat smaller (5-6 cm in diameter). Stems with ash-cobwebby pubescence, a bare purple base and a greenish-felt covering near the inflorescences. There are many leaves, up to 20 pieces, some of them are stem, lanceolate or broadly ovate, sharp, with a hydathode (stomata for the release of moisture droplets by plants) at the apex, the lower ones narrowed into a sheath. There are also basal leaves that dry out by the time of flowering. In addition, the plant has sterile lanceolate-elliptical shoots.

    There are 5-10 bracts, 5-6 of which are larger, they are blunt, up to 3 cm in length, thick white-tomentose on top, forming a 5-rayed almost regular “star”. The flowers in the inflorescence are only staminate or bisexual, tubular-bell-shaped or only pistillate narrow-tube. In bisexual species, the bristles of the pappus are club-shaped and thickened at the end. It blooms from June to September on soil poor in organic matter; on a fertile substrate its leaves develop well, but not its flowers. In spring or late summer it is propagated by dividing the rhizome, and its seeds also germinate well.

    E. multi-colored (lat. L. discolor Beauverd)

    The species is distributed in Japan, Korea, Russia and the Far East. Grows on damp rocky and sandy slopes, in outcrops, on chars among dwarf cedar. Its rhizome is branching, with numerous thin woody shoots topped with rosettes of leaves, forming a large loose turf. The stems are slightly grained, at the beginning cobwebby-tomentose, in the lower half woody and devoid of pubescence, red-brown with 8-20 leaves. Lanceolate and linear-lanceolate leaves up to 5 cm long and 3-5 mm wide, pointed and acute with a hydathode at the apex. The upper ones are almost sessile, the lower ones are narrowed into a semi-encompassing vagina. The leaves are sharply two-colored - green, bare or gray-cobwebby on top, turning black when dry, and white-tomentose underneath.

    The leaves of the sterile shoots are basal on thin petioles, lanceolate, dying early - 13 cm long and 10 mm wide. Inflorescences of 3-10 baskets, often branched and then the baskets are often large, solitary. The bracts of the heads are numerous (9-12), ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate with sharp edges, thin-white-tomentose above, greenish-tomentose below with a clearly visible white vein. After drying, they become whitish-green, forming a well-defined star from 2 to 3.5 cm in diameter. The baskets are tightly twisted, with a lanceolate involucre, with a sharp, often torn dark brown tip. The inflorescence is tetrogamous: the inner flowers are bisexual, sterile, the outer flowers are pistillate, fertile, with a white tuft.

    E. kurilsky (lat. L. kurilense Takeda)

    It is found in Russia near the city of Anadyr in Chukotka, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the basin of the Bureya and Zeya rivers, on the Dzhugdzhur ridge, on the Shikotan and Kuril islands. It grows on rocky slopes and in mountain tundras, on rock ledges.

    A plant with a branching or prostrate woody rhizome 2-3 cm long with filamentous roots, forming numerous tufts of sterile rosettes of leaves and a few stems. One plant can have from 4 to 10 stems with a height of 5 to 20 cm, bald or gray-web-like, sometimes by the end of the growing season they lose pubescence and become brownish with glandular thickenings at the bases of the hairs. They have 3-10 sharp or pointed narrow-lanceolate leaves with a hydathode at the apex, 1-2 cm long and 2-5 mm wide.

    Their linear leaves are oblong or scapular, obtuse and rounded at the apex, sessile and almost stem-embracing. The basal ones are obovate, oblong, longer and wider, narrowed into a petiole, loosely cobwebby-gray on top. In plants of damp and shady habitats they are cobwebby. But they always darken when dry, with light white or ash-felt underneath. Sometimes, especially stem ones, are gray-tomentose, like the stem.

    Bracts, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate leaves with a sharp or blunt end are shorter than the upper stem leaves, there can be from 4 to 11. On top they are shaggy-white tomentose or slightly yellowish, but often they do not differ in color from the upper stem leaves. They form a “star” from 1 to 5 cm in diameter. The baskets (from 3 to 10) are tightly twisted, single, yellowish when flowering from protruding corollas, 10 mm in diameter, their involucres are lanceolate, loosely felted on the back with dark brown, sharp and ragged tops. The baskets are bisexual (with staminate and pistillate flowers) or unisexual (flowers of different sexes on different baskets), existing on the same plant. In mixed baskets, numerous inner flowers are bisexual, and the few outer ones are pistillate, with slightly yellowish pappus hairs up to 4 mm long with thickened tips.

    E. edelweiss (lat. L. leontopodoides)

    Grows in Mongolia, Northern China, Korea, the Far East and Eastern Siberia of Russia. It is found in steppes, dry meadows, sandy coasts, on stony and rocky slopes, on coastal cliffs, clearings of pine forests, etc. Its shortened woody rhizome produces numerous flowering and sterile stems. But it does not form sterile rosettes of leaves. All shoots of one plant form a small, dense turf.

    The stems of Edelweiss edelweiss are straight and strong, somewhat woody in the lower part, from 10 to 40 cm tall, with gray-silky or ash-villous, sometimes ragged pubescence. They contain up to 30 alternate leaves. Erect, linear, linear-lanceolate or narrow-lanceolate leaves, sometimes pressed to the stem, from 1.5 to 4.5 cm long and 2-5 mm wide. Acute, with a large hydathode at the apex, sessile, often curled along the edge, with a protruding vein below, equally densely pubescent on all sides. Or ashy, greenish on top or almost equally colored on both sides. There are also leaves with yellow reverse.

    The inflorescence is poor, consisting of 3-4 tightly twisted large baskets, 7-10 mm in diameter, single or collected in a corymb. There are from 1 to 4 bracts, they are almost indistinguishable from the upper stem leaves, linear or narrow-lanceolate, erect, and do not form a “star”. The sepals are lanceolate, light pubescent on the outside with a sharp light brown or colorless tip. The plants are dioecious with dioecious flowers; less often, the baskets contain both female and male types flowers.

    E. short-rayed (lat. L. brachyactis)

    The habitats of this species are the Himalayas, Tibet, Pamir and Altai. It grows on rocky slopes from 1800 to 3600 m above sea level. This xerophilous Western Himalayan mountain species was found in Russia in a limited area, on the northern slope of the Altai Range. It is well distinguished by yellowish and thick spatulate leaves with a clear midrib, a bare thin woody stolon and uniform light ash pubescence on all parts of the plant.

    The rhizome is short, forms small tufts with a mass of dense, sterile leaf rosettes, and produces straight woody trunks up to 10 cm long. Numerous trunks are white-felt, dark brown, balding below, well leafy at the beginning of growth, later bare. Stem leaves are oblong-spatulate or oblong-obovate, 1.5-2.5 cm long and 2.5-4.5 mm wide, obtuse, sometimes pointed with a hydathode at the apex. The basal ones are broadly or roundly spatulate, 1.5 cm long and 5.5 mm wide with a vein clearly protruding from above.

    8-12 bracts oblong or linear-pointed leaves are indistinguishable in color from the stem leaves. But they are more pubescent and are 2 times larger than the inflorescences, forming a “star”. The plant has from 3 to 5 tightly twisted baskets up to 6-8 mm in diameter. The sepals are lanceolate, about 5 mm in length, white-tomentose along the back with a sharp, often torn apex, light and dark brown in color. The inflorescences contain either male or female flowers, or only one of these species, being dioecious. Corolla – 2.5-3 mm long.

    E. low-growing (lat. L. nanum (Hook. f. & Thomson) Hand.-Mazz)

    Lives in Tibet, the Pamirs and Altai. Prefers high-mountain coastal meadows and gravelly and clayey slopes from 3500 to 4800 m above sea level. The rhizome is short, up to 2 cm long, forms tufts of sterile leaf rosettes and 1-5 creeping and branching brown scaly stolons up to 10 cm long. Single trunks (1-5) up to 5 cm tall with 3-7 alternate purple leaves, covered with thick light gray felt. These leaves may be completely undeveloped, then the rosettes together with the sessile heads do not exceed 1.5-2 cm in height. The leaves are oblong or spatulate, the basal leaves are up to 2 cm long and 5 mm wide, the stem leaves are erect, up to 1.5 cm long, narrower, equally pubescent on both sides.

    The bracts do not differ from the stem petals, do not exceed the head, are often shorter than it and do not form a “star”. The inflorescence head is very dense, up to 15 mm in diameter, consists of 3-5 baskets, most often single large baskets. The sepals are pointed at the apex, membranous, lanceolate, about 6 mm long, brown to almost black, often green along the back. The baskets are unisexual - dioecious or heterogamous, flowers with very long white tufts. The crests greatly outweigh the corollas and form a very prominent white “cap”.

    This flower is easy to cultivate. In order to grow edelweiss in a rock garden or just in a garden, you need nutrients soil mixed with clastics rocks and brightly lit areas. It requires extremely moderate watering and only during extremely dry periods. It reproduces without problems by parts of the rhizome. By introducing this plant into cultivation and increasing its numbers, people help it survive on Earth.

    Edelweiss alpine – herbaceous perennial with a pubescent branched stem and lanceolate leaves. The plant is decorative, thanks to lush flowering white or yellowish baskets, known in gardening. Alpine edelweiss has many medicinal properties. Listed in the Red Book as an endangered species.

    Ask the experts a question

    In medicine

    Alpine edelweiss is a non-pharmacopoeial plant, unknown in official medicine. Due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cleansing and regenerating properties, Alpine edelweiss has long been used in folk medicine. Edelweiss infusions and decoctions are effective for rheumatic pain, diseases of the digestive and respiratory organs, as well as cardiovascular diseases. The external use of edelweiss for skin lesions, purulent wounds, ulcers and cuts is also known.

    Contraindications and side effects

    Contraindications to the use of edelweiss are individual intolerance, a tendency to exhibit allergy symptoms, pregnancy and lactation in women, as well as early childhood.

    In gardening

    Edelweiss – decorative garden plant as culture does not require special care in cultivation. Edelweiss is planted in rock gardens, on alpine roller coaster. This light-loving plant will grow well in light, dry, calcareous soils in a sunny spot in the garden. The plant does not tolerate stagnant water. Since edelweiss is a true inhabitant of the mountains, when planting it, coarse sand or crushed stone is added to the soil. Fertile soil will not benefit the plant.

    Florists use the colorful inflorescences of edelweiss to create dry bouquets. The decorative nature of alpine edelweiss flowers in nature leads to severe extermination of the species.

    In cosmetology

    Alpine edelweiss extract is included in many modern cosmetics for face and body skin care. Since the plant has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, cosmetic products based on edelweiss do not cause allergic reactions and are intended for both adults and children. This is an excellent product for rejuvenating the skin. Edelweiss is an important component of anti-aging cosmetics creams and gels. Shampoos with edelweiss extract help get rid of dandruff, promote hair growth, and give hair health and shine. Specialists from the Swiss laboratory Septer have developed a line of natural children's cosmetics Swiss Nature Baby with Alpine edelweiss extract. Soap, cleansing milk, and foam with edelweiss are used for bathing babies, since plant saponins in the extract provide gentle skin care.

    Classification

    Alpine edelweiss (lat. Leontopodium alpinum) - herbaceous perennial, a species of the genus Edelweiss (lat. Leontopodium). The genus Edelweiss is represented by 60 species; only 10 species grow in Russia. Belongs to the Aster family (lat. Asteraceae) or Compositae (lat. Compositae). According to modern classification, Alpine Edelweiss (lat. Leontopodium alpinum) is considered a subspecies of snowy Edelweiss (lat. Leontopodium nivale).

    Botanical description

    Alpine edelweiss is a herbaceous perennial plant, 20-25 cm high. Typically, the plant, growing in high mountain regions, is covered with silvery-white hairs. The stems of edelweiss are slightly curved, branch in the upper part and form low bushes. The leaves are lanceolate and form a basal rosette.

    Alpine edelweiss flowers are collected in dense heads and basket-inflorescences. The bluish-yellow or white baskets are surrounded by leaves of star-shaped involucre. The bracts are heavily pubescent, which gives the plant a silvery tint. Edelweiss blooms in spring or early summer. The fruits are achenes. The plant reproduces by seeds.

    Spreading

    The plant is distributed in the subalpine and alpine zones, in the mountains at an altitude of about 2 thousand meters, in the most inaccessible places. Sometimes edelweiss is found much lower, but loses its white felt pubescence, so specimens growing in flat areas are less decorative. Alpine edelweiss grows in the mountains of Siberia, the Alps, the Himalayas, as well as in Mongolia, Manchuria, China, Korea, and the mountains of Japan. The species is found in the Carpathians, less often in the Caucasus. Edelweiss grows on high mountain plains, gravelly and rocky mountain slopes, and mountain steppe meadows.

    Alpine edelweiss is listed in the Red Book, since the number of the species is gradually decreasing due to the decorative nature of the plant.

    Regions of distribution on the map of Russia.

    Procurement of raw materials

    Alpine Eelweiss is listed in the Red Book, so medicinal raw materials are not prepared from it.

    Chemical composition

    Edelweiss grass contains mineral salts of calcium, potassium, magnesium, saponins, flavonoids, phenolic and chlorogenic acids, vitamin C, A, K.

    Pharmacological properties

    The photoprotective and antioxidant properties of alpine edelweiss are due to the content of mineral salts of potassium, calcium and magnesium, flavonoids, saponins, chlorogenic and phenolic acids in its composition. Due to the high amount of tannin, edelweiss grass is effective in treating sunburn, is widely used in folk medicine to treat difficult-to-heal wounds and ulcers. In cosmetology in many countries, alpine edelweiss extract is used in products (creams and gels) for skin care, providing anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antioxidant effects.

    French botanists Jean-Paul Vigneron and Virginie Lusse, photographing an edelweiss flower in the rays of the solar spectrum, discovered a unique property of the plant - it completely absorbs ultraviolet light. By studying the perianths under a microscope, scientists found that mountain plants are covered with small white hairs. The latter consist of parallel cellulose fibers with a thickness of 0.18 microns. This figure is very close to half the wavelength of ultraviolet light that reaches Earth. Delicate hairs absorb radiation, which can burn the leaves of a plant high in the mountains, so the hairs will perform protective function V natural environment edelweiss habitat. At the same time, a “filter” of white hairs is capable of transmitting visible light, which is simply necessary for photosynthesis. In the near future, scientific cosmetologists have great hopes for the edelweiss plant, as it is planned to develop a line of sunscreen cosmetics based on edelweiss extract from similar nanoparticles. This small plant is shrouded in many secrets. Edelweiss has long been considered a symbol of fidelity, love and courage, because long ago men, risking their lives, tried to find it amazing plant high in the mountains to your beloved.

    The edelweiss flower adorns the coat of arms of the country of Switzerland.

    The name of the genus Edelweiss comes from gr. the words “noble” and “white”, while the scientific name of the genus Leontopodium, translated from Greek, means a combination of the words “lion” and “leg”. The French call this plant “Alpine star” because of the star-shaped wrapper of the inflorescences.

    Literature

    1. Edelweiss // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

    2. Grubov V.I. Genus 1488. Edelweiss - Leontopodium R.Br. // Flora of the USSR: in 30 volumes / started at hand. and under chap. ed. V. L. Komarova. - M.-L. : Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1959. - T. XXV / ed. volumes B.K. Shishkin. - P. 342-360. - 630 s.

    IN natural conditions edelweiss grows in the mountains at an altitude of 1.8 km from sea level. The flowering period of this unusually beautiful flower is June-August. At this time, edelweiss seems even more beautiful, and the meager vegetable world the mountains only emphasize its splendor. But now, thanks to the painstaking work of breeders, you don’t need to go to the mountains to admire these magnificent flowers. They got along well in garden plots, it will be enough to create conditions close to natural.

    Description of the plant

    Edelweiss flowers are very delicate, but at the same time they are distinguished by their endurance. They tolerate permafrost climate well, so they feel comfortable in stone gardens middle zone. The only thing the plant cannot tolerate is heat.

    Reproduction methods

    The crop can be propagated in 3 ways: cuttings, seeds and dividing the root system. The tops of the shoots are used as cuttings, which take root well in the soil. Cuttings are carried out in May or June. Plants quickly take root and are already next year You can expect new representatives to bloom.

    The plant is also easy to propagate by seeds. To do this, you need to use your last year's seeds. If these are not available, you need to purchase them at a specialized garden store.

    To plant seeds, you will need a wooden or plastic box, as well as a nutritious soil mixture. You can prepare it yourself.

    Soil mixture for edelweiss:

    Before sowing seeds, they must be prepared in advance. For this planting material mixed with wet soil and place in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. After their expiration, the seeds are sown in a prepared box and covered with film or glass in order to create a suitable microclimate for the germination of planting material.

    Clematis: plant description, planting and flower care

    The optimal temperature for germination is +13−15 degrees. Within 2-3 weeks the first shoots should appear. After their appearance, the seedlings should be freed from film or glass. Seedlings grow very slowly. When they reach 2 cm, they are planted in separate containers for growing.

    You can propagate a flower by dividing the root system. This procedure is recommended to be carried out in the spring. A group of plants must be dug up and carefully divided so that each new plant contains a fragment of the root system. Then plant the plant at intervals of 20 cm.

    Transplant seedlings into open ground needed at a time of danger spring frosts passed. You can sow planting material directly into open ground. In this case, it is necessary to sow the seeds in a previously prepared place in early spring.

    Growing conditions in the garden

    Where edelweiss grows, the soil is rocky and loose, so the plant needs to create similar conditions in the garden. The soil should contain a sufficient amount of coarse river sand and small pebbles, thanks to which it will allow moisture to pass through perfectly.

    The ideal option would be calcareous soil. But a flower in nature is not spoiled by fertile lands, so it can grow well in any neutral soil. The plant absolutely does not tolerate stagnation of moisture. It is for this reason that the flower cannot be planted in depressions and lowlands. He also does not like drought.

    It is important to know that edelweiss does not require organic fertilizers; moreover, they can even harm its health. In spring, the plant should be fed with complex mineral fertilizers. Loosening should be done very rarely.

    I bring to your attention amazing photographs of the Caucasus Mountains and its surroundings from the perspective of an eyewitness and a person who conquered these peaks. Moreover, he has a special passion for climbing and overcoming himself. Behind his difficult achievements, Mikhail Golubev was able to talk about the beauty of mountain peaks and dangerous glaciers, about flowering foothills and indescribable rainbows, about fogs and clouds, about mountain lakes and rivers, seething waterfalls and streams. About the animal world and the unusually touching flowers that grow in the heights and valleys. All photographs are from different periods and years. Moreover, the author took wonderful panoramic shots and was able to convey his attitude and love for the mountains. Photographs and descriptions of them, by the author himself.

    Elbrus and rhododendrons.

    Summer day in the Elbrus region.

    In the Caucasus Mountains, the first half of July, the altitude is about 3300 m. At this time, at this altitude, summer is still unstable and snowfalls may occur. The photo shows a flower that has melted in the warm sun.

    Bells in the area of ​​the Kogutai glacier in the Elbrus region.
    August 2004.

    Dombay


    The peaks of Bezengi are in the distance. Central Caucasus.

    In the mountains of Ossetia

    In the distance is the peak of Bolshoy Kogutai, view from the north. Elbrus region, summer 2006.

    In the heart of the Caucasus Mountains.

    Mountain river

    A stream in the left pocket of the moraine of the Terskol glacier. Elbrus region, July 2005.

    Mountain trekking class 2 along Gvandra-Uzunkol (KChR, Caucasus) in July-August 2007.

    A vast meadow in the upper reaches of the Burnaya River. To the left is the Dorbun pass, to the right are the Poachers and Vorontsov-Velyaminov passes, which is where we are going.

    Mountain trekking class 3 according to Western Caucasus in July 2012

    Rynji Lake

    Zaramag glacier in the distance, North Ossetia, August 2011.

    Traveling through the mountains of Svaneti (Georgia) in the summer of 2012. Descending along the Gulichala valley, we constantly looked back to admire the formidable, majestically two-horned beauty peak Ushba (4710 m).

    Yellow violets. Caucasus Mountains, height about 3300 m.

    Mountain trekking class 3 according to Western Caucasus in July 2012. In the distance is the peak of Sulahat from the west.

    Floral Elbrus region

    Elbrus region, summer 2006.
    View of Elbrus from under the Kogutai peak.

    Mountain trekking class 3 according to Western Caucasus (KCR) in the Aksaut-Dombay region in July 2012.

    In the upper reaches of the Kuban.

    Peak Dzhan-Tugan (approx. 4000 m) in the upper reaches of the Adylsu valley in the Elbrus region. July 2005.


    Ullu-Muruju River. Hike 2 k.s. along Teberda-Gvandra-Uzunkol (KChR, Caucasus) in July 2007

    In the Mursala valley in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, May 2012.

    The peaks of Dzhangitau and Katyntau (both above 5000 m) in the great Bezengi wall. Below is the largest glacier in the Caucasus - Bezengisky. The height difference from the glacier to the peaks is more than 2 km: four Ostankino towers. If you stood at the base of the Ostankino Tower and looked at its top, quadruple the sensation and add huge glaciers for a more chilling sensation!
    Taken from the summit of the 50th Anniversary of KBASRR (4000 m) with a close view.
    Central Caucasus, August 2005.

    Nahar River

    In the valley of the Kurmychi River in the Elbrus region. July 2005.

    Flowers by a stream in the Mursala valley, May 2012.