Never having seen this famous plant before, I had assumed it would be one of those at the 10,000 foot summit of Piz Nair but that habitat is gravelly and acidic and this species needs a basic soil. Much further down the mountain on the crumbling, much eroded slopes the habitat is limestone and we found several small clumps of this protected and highly valued plant in an area which looked as though it was used by mountain bikers. So far from disappearing from the well used mountain tracks as some accounts say, it is fairly easy to find and you don't need to climb into scary crags and corries - just lie on the grass by the path.

I'm very glad I've seen it at last but it certainly isn't in my top ten of attractive Swiss alpines.

Leontopodium alpinum Edelweiss Lower slopes of Piz Nair, Engadine, Switzerland 10th July 2010 Previous   Next	Leontopodium alpinum Edelweiss Lower slopes of Piz Nair, Engadine, Switzerland 10th July 2010 Previous   Next
Leontopodium alpinum Edelweiss close-up	Leontopodium alpinum Edelweiss Whole plant

Lower slopes of Piz Nair, Engadine, Switzerland 10th July 2010

Added on 23rd November 2010, updated 12th Nov 2014