This Week's Mystery Plant

Let's go to the movies.

Everybody will know this plant as "The Sound of Music's" ticket to five Academy Awards, the plant that Maria and the Von Trapp family were so crazy about. Not only them, but it was also the favorite flower of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm, and Ludwig II, who built those fairy-tale castles in Bavaria.

Our plant is a member of the sunflower family, and it is found only in Europe. It is strictly a high-elevation, mountain species, occurring from Ukraine west into the French Alps. It is very well-known as a native alpine wildflower, and it has developed quite a history of local folklore. Beyond its medicinal qualities, it was early on used as a sort of love-charm, and courageous young men would eagerly search it out for their sweet ones, proving their affection by plucking the beautiful treasure from steep, craggy ledges. This plant was also employed as a heraldic symbol, and was used to adorn military uniforms.

The flowers are small and yellowish, clustered into heads that are surrounded by a series of bract-like leaves. These leaves, and indeed, the rest of the plant, are densely covered with soft, white hairs. The effect of the bracts surrounding the heads produces a star-like pattern, and in the bright sunshine of the high Alps, it is a very striking sight. This species has relatives in the southeastern USA, including our native pussy-toes, pearly everlasting, and even rabbit-tobacco. As you might expect, the plants are becoming rare in Europe, and are now protected in several countries. (We hope Julie Andrews didn't step on any in that opening scene.)

It can be grown as a garden plant, at least in cool climates. This photograph came from a garden-market, last summer, in Munich. (Photo by John Nelson.)

Photo by John Nelson