Edelweiss Flowers Vintage Botanical Illustration Poster

A vintage botanical nature illustration. Edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale) grows high in the alpine regions of Europe, including Germany, Austria, Italy and France. A modest plant with wooly blossom it's a symbol of love everlasting. Edelweiss was once in vogue for swains who wanted to win a heart, secret lovers or happily married couples like King Franz Joseph and Queen Elisabeth (known informally as Sisi) of Austria who took the flower as a symbol of their true love and started the whole edelweiss craze in the nineteenth century. Threatened with extinction, edelweiss was saved as environmentalists rallied and the plant came under state protection. It continues to prevail in folklore and romance. As a medicinal herb it has been used for centuries to ease respiratory problems, fever, heart disease, diarrhoea and stomach ailments.