5 plants worth knowing
Greenland
About 80% of Greenland lies under the ice sheet, so plants occupy only the ice-free coastal strip. Arctic tundra dominates here, with dwarf shrubs, mosses and lichens, and in the far north there is almost bare polar desert. In the south, in the Kujalleq region, there are thickets of birch and willow, and in the Qinngua Valley the island’s only natural forest. Only about 500 species of vascular plants grow here.
Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.
where it grows
-
1
native
Dwarf fireweed
Chamaenerion latifolium
The purple “little girl” – that is what Greenlanders call their national flower, which lights up gravelly riverbanks in summer.
-
2
native
Arctic willow
Salix arctica
A tree just a few centimetres tall – a creeping willow that grows all the way to the far north of Greenland.
-
3
native
Crowberry
Empetrum nigrum
A dwarf shrub with juicy black berries that Greenlanders have gathered in late summer for generations.
-
4
native
Garden angelica
Angelica archangelica
Greenland’s tallest herbaceous plant – its sweetish stems were one of the few “vegetables” of the Inuit.
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5
native
Entire-leaved mountain avens
Dryas integrifolia
The white flowers of mountain avens track the sun like satellite dishes, warming the insects inside them.
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