scotsoft.org.uk

Saussurea, or the snow lotus as it is commonly known, is the name for a group of approximately 300 species of flowering plants that are in the family Asteraceae. The snow lotus is native to the arctic regions of North America, Asia, and Europe, the majority of them being located in the Himalaya region. Perennial herbaceous plants, the snow lotus ranges in height from the dwarf alpine variety which reaches just 5 to 10 centimetres, to the tall variety which reach 3 metres in height. The snow lotus flower has a dense head of small capitula which is usually surrounded by dense white to purple woolly hairs. The wool on the flower is densest in the highest altitude species as it minimises frost damage at night, it prevents ultraviolet light damage from the intense sunlight found at such high altitudes, and it aids in the thermoregulation of the flowers.

The snow lotus root was a very lucrative item in the Roman trade with India. Long used in Tibetan medicine, the flowers and stems have also been traditionally used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of stomach ache, altitude sickness, dysmenorrhea, rheumatoid arthritis and many other ailments. Sound like the type of plant worth buying from florists!