Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Edelweiss \E"del*weiss\, n. [G., fr. edel noble + weiss white.]
   (Bot.)
   A little, perennial, white, woolly plant ({Leontopodium
   alpinum}), growing at high elevations in the Alps.

Source : WordNet®

Leontopodium alpinum
     n : alpine perennial plant native to Europe having leaves
         covered with whitish down and small flower heads held in
         stars of glistening whitish bracts [syn: {edelweiss}]