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

Arctic bell-heather
Hawkweed-leaved saxifrage
Alpine bistort
Moss campion
Svalbard poppy
Woolly lousewort

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 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.