Flora of Svalbard
There are 164 vascular plant species on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. This figure does not include algae, mosses, and lichens, which are non-vascular plants. For an island so far north, 164 species constitutes an astonishing variety of plant life. Because of the harsh climate and the short growing season, all the plants are slow growing. They seldom grow higher than 10 cm.
In some areas, especially in warmer valleys, the plants produce carpets of blossoms. Svalbard has been divided into four vegetation zones.
Plant species
Alpine bistort
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- Arabis alpina[1] - Alpine rock-cress
- Arenaria pseudofrigida - Fringed sandwort
- Arnica alpina - Alpine arnica
- Betula nana[1] - Dwarf birch
- Braya purpurascens - Purplish Braya
- Campanula uniflora - Arctic harebell
- Cardamine nymanii - Polar cress
- Carex misandra - Sooty sedge
- Cassiope tetragona[1] - Arctic bell-heather
- Cerastium arcticum - Arctic mouse-ear chickweed
- Cochlearia officinalis - Scurvy-grass
- Deschampsia alpina - Alpine hair-grass
- Draba
- Dryas octopetala[1] - Mountain avens
- Empetrum nigrum[1] - Crowberry
- Erigeron humilis - Black fleabane
- Eriophorum scheuchzeri - Arctic cottongrass
- Luzula
- L. nivalis - Tundra wood-rush
- L. confusa - Arctic wood-rush
- Mertensia maritima - Oysterleaf
- Minuartia rubella - Alpine sandwort
- Oxyria digyna - Mountain sorrel
- Papaver dahlianum - Svalbard poppy
- Pedicularis
- P. dasyantha - Woolly lousewort
- P. hirsuta - Hairy lousewort
- Petasites frigidus - Lapland butterbur
- Poa alpina - Alpine meadow-grass
- Polemonium boreale - Boreal Jacobs-ladder
- Polygonum viviparum - Alpine bistort
- Potentilla
- P. chamissonis - Bluff cinquefoil
- P. hyparctica - Arctic cinquefoil
- P. pulchella - Tufted cinquefoil
- Puccinellia phryganodes - Cushioned saltmarsh grass
- Ranunculus
- R. hyperboreus - Arctic buttercup
- R. lapponicus - Lapland buttercup
- R. nivalis - Snow buttercup
- R. pedatifidus - Lobed buttercup
- R. pygmaeus - Pygmy buttercup
- R. sulphureus - Sulphur-coloured buttercup
- Rubus chamaemorus[1] - Cloudberry
- Salix
- Salix herbacea[1] - Snowbed willow
- Salix polaris - Polar willow
- Saxifraga
- S. aizoides - Yellow mountain saxifrage
- S. cernua - Drooping saxifrage
- S. cespitosa - Tufted saxifrage
- S. flagellaris - Whiplash saxifrage
- S. hieracifolia - Hawkweed-leaved saxifrage
- S. hirculus - Bog saxifrage
- S. nivalis - Alpine saxifrage
- S. oppositifolia - Purple saxifrage
- S. rivularis[1] - Brook saxifrage
- Silene
- S. acaulis - Moss campion
- S. furcata - Arctic Lychnis
- S. wahlbergella - Northern catchfly
- Stellaria
- S. crassipes - Chickweed
- S. humifusa - Arctic chickweed
- Taraxacum
- T. arcticum - Arctic dandelion
- T. brachyceras - Polar dandelion
- Vaccinium uliginosum[1] - Bog bilberry
Fruit of Vaccinium uliginosum
References
- Alsos, I.G.; et al. (2007). "Frequent long-distance plant colonization in the changing arctic". Science. 316 (5831): 1606–1609. doi:10.1126/science.1139178. PMID 17569861.
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