ZAP’S FACTS!
FLOWERS

Edelweiss grows so high in the Alps that the air is thin and freezing.

This fuzzy white flower survives where almost nothing else does - by wearing a coat of UV-blocking fluff.

2 min read
Edelweiss grows so high in the Alps that the air is thin and freezing.
THE FULL STORY

Edelweiss is a small star-shaped flower that lives way up in the Alps and Carpathian mountains, often above 2,000 metres. Up there the sun is brutal, the air is thin, the temperature swings wildly, and most plants give up. Edelweiss thrives.

Its secret is fuzz. Every petal and leaf is covered in a thick coat of tiny white hairs. Up close they look like felt, and they do two huge jobs: trap warmth around the plant on cold nights, and bounce away dangerous ultraviolet radiation that hits hard at altitude.

Scientists studying edelweiss have found its fuzz blocks UV light more effectively than many human-made sunscreens. So researchers are now copying the structure of those tiny hairs to design new high-tech sun-protection materials.

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