ACQUIZHEN

Edelweiss – Leontopodium alpinum

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is a stocky downy plant only reaching up to 30cm tall. In the wild it dwells exclusively on mountains at altitudes above 1700m in south-central and south-eastern Europe. It is not vigorous enough to compete with faster growing plants which thrive in the more hospitable climates lower down the mountain. It is only in the relatively recent times of the last century that mountains have become a recreational and accessible area for people. Mountain regions used to be places of a wild and foreboding nature that were scarcely visited. The blooms of Edelweiss which grew in these regions became a talisman against evil and also a love charm. Young men strove to demonstrate their virility by collecting Edelweiss flowers and many died in the process while this plant continued to survive in its inhospitable environment.

As this special plant is now less common it is protected by law and cannot be collected from the wild. ACQUIZHEN’s Edelweiss extract is sourced from farms in Switzerland which cultivate the plants in conditions that maintain the plant’s magical properties which are a response to the tough conditions in which they grow in the wild. Edelweiss is adapted in many ways to live in the extreme environment of high altitude living. Therefore it can grow at leisure in areas other plants would not survive. Like many mountain plants Edelweiss has a thick coat of downy hairs. The star like appearance of its flowers are due to the small clusters of tiny yellow flowers being held in the centre of modified leaves which are so hairy they appear to be velvety white petals, which results in the appearance of star shaped flowers. These downy hairs help to insulate the plant from low temperatures and can also reduce water loss in an environment which can be windy and also dry due to the limited amounted of soil and steep gradients. Another challenging feature of the mountain environment is the intense UV light as the atmosphere is thinner and cloud cover can often sink lower down the mountain. To combat the damage which would be caused by free radicals formed by the energy of UV light Edelweiss contains powerful anti-oxidants which protect the plant from damage. These anti-oxidants are equally effective in neutralizing free radicals in human skin. Topical application of Edelweiss extract in ACQUIZHEN’s Eye & Delicate Skin Serum is a natural way to powerfully combat signs of aging in areas particularly prone to the ravages of time.