The small white flowers stood out against the steep mountainside. As such, alpinists and mountaineers took on the symbol of the Edelweiss with pride, representing their ability to reach a place to pick such a flower. In Alpine folklore, a flower gathered from a difficult slope could be offered as a token of affection or a gesture of courage; a small reminder of somewhere far above everyday life. But it also became a part of military tradition across generations of mountain troops, including the insignias of Ukrainian mountain brigades who take on the flower of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains.