Genus of the Month
June
This page has been created for people who want to learn more about plants, especially in the
context of their taxonomy (Latin names, etc.). This is by no means an exhaustive list of
all available Web resources for a particular genus.
If you like this page, you might also want to visit the Land of the Glandular Trichomes
, a microscopic look at plants in the Lamiaceae family. Also, you can see my contribution to the
Conservation New England web site, entitled
"The Introduction of Non-Native Plants into Massachusetts".
This month's genus:
Leontopodium
Subclass: Dicotyledoneae
Superorder: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Inuleae
Number of Species: At least 4
Root: From the Greek "leont", meaning lion, and "podium", meaning support or foot ("Lion's Foot").
The genus Leontopodium is best known for L. alpinum, more commonly known by the name Edelweiss. This species is found in the mountainous regions of Europe, though it is becoming increasing rare.
Here are a few links to images and descriptions of different Leontopodium species:
- To see what Edelweiss looks like, check out this photo from Texas A&M University's Vascular Plant Image Gallery.
- Edelweiss is actually a popular brand of beer in Austria. Visit Pa's Austrian Beer Articles web site and you will find a nice little article about the history of the flower and much, much more.
- Here's a really cute poem written about Edelweiss.
- If you really like Leontopodium (or flowers in general), you may want to download the set of flower icons from T. Motoyama's Flower Icon Site. The icons include L. fauriei, a Japanese species.
References:
- Heywood, V.H., ed. Flowering Plants of the World. New York, Oxford University Press: 1993.
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