Edelweiss, the Flower

Other than Holland's tulips and Japan's cherry blossoms, I don't think I know of a flower more closely associated with a country than the Edelweiss is to Austria. Protected by the government for more than 100 years, this hairy, star-shaped Alpine member of the sunflower family became internationally beloved via the Rodgers and Hammerstein song in The Sound of Music. I've never seen one growing wild but recently did come across a crate full of Edelweiss plants, that I assume were cultivated, for sale in Hallstatt, Austria.