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10 plants worth knowing

Finland

Finland is the most heavily forested country in Europe – forests, mainly of pine, spruce and birch, cover about three-quarters of its territory. Between them lie tens of thousands of lakes and vast peatlands, which take up around a third of the country. In the north, in Lapland, the taiga gives way to birch scrub and treeless fells, and the short, white nights of summer make plants grow at a dizzying pace.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Lily of the valley 1

    flower · National flower of Finland (since 1967)

    Lily of the valley

    Convallaria majalis

    The fragrant white bells of the kielo bloom in Finnish forests in early summer – the national flower of Finland since 1967.
  2. Silver birch 2

    tree · National tree of Finland (since 1988)

    Silver birch

    Betula pendula

    No Finnish sauna is complete without birch – its twigs are bound into a vihta, used to whisk the body in the hot steam.
  3. Cloudberry 3

    herbaceous plant · Appears on the Finnish 2-euro coin

    Cloudberry

    Rubus chamaemorus

    The “gold of the bogs” from the Finnish 2-euro coin – amber cloudberries are the most prized wild fruit of the North.
  4. Scots pine 4

    tree

    Scots pine

    Pinus sylvestris

    Finland’s commonest tree – red-trunked pines stand on the shores of thousands of lakes and grow right up to the northern treeline.
  5. Bilberry 5

    dwarf shrub

    Bilberry

    Vaccinium myrtillus

    Hundreds of millions of kilograms of bilberries ripen in Finnish forests every year, and everyone may pick them thanks to everyman’s right.
  6. Norway spruce 6

    tree

    Norway spruce

    Picea abies

    Second only to pine in Finland’s forests – the spruce forms the dark kuusikot of the south and supplies Finland’s paper mills.
  7. Lingonberry 7

    dwarf shrub

    Lingonberry

    Vaccinium vitis-idaea

    Alongside the bilberry, the tart puolukka is the most picked fruit of Finnish forests and a must with meatballs, liver and game.
  8. Rowan 8

    tree

    Rowan

    Sorbus aucuparia

    A sacred tree of the ancient Finns, linked with the goddess Rauni – a rowan planted by the house was meant to protect its household from evil and witchcraft.
  9. Rye 9

    crop

    Rye

    Secale cereale

    Dark ruisleipä rye bread was voted Finland’s national dish in 2017 – there is no Finnish table without rye.
  10. Common juniper 10

    shrub

    Common juniper

    Juniperus communis

    Sahti, the traditional Finnish beer, is filtered through juniper twigs, and fragrant kataja wood is made into famous butter knives.