DESCRIPTION

Herbaceous plant 5 to 15 cm high with persistent tough leaves all arranged in a basal rosette. Blade rounded to 4 cm in diameter; full edge and heart-shaped incision at the base of the petiole. During flowering, development of the floral stem; up to 3 purple-blue flowers inclined at its tip. Corolla welded in funnel and finished in fringed tips.

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HISTORY

Its name comes from penny because their leaves look like a coin ("soldus" in Latin)

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HABITAT

Common in the limestone Alps of the North and South, rarer in the Central Alps; small valleys with long snow cover, marshy areas in alpine lawns, humid high-altitude forests; limestone soils rich in humus; between 1500 and 2500 m altitude, sometimes up to 3000 m altitude.

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PARTICULARITIES

The rhizome contains laxative and purgative substances. The first bells sometimes appear as soon as the snow melts in the mountains. The flowers are formed the year before flowering. Flowering is linked to the duration of the snow cover. The heat released during the heat exchanges provided by the stem pierces the snow in spring.

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THREAT

This flower is protected, do not pick it !

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