Dwarf fireweed

The purple “little girl” – that is what Greenlanders call their national flower, which lights up gravelly riverbanks in summer.

A low perennial 10–40 cm tall, with fleshy, grey-green leaves and large, pinkish-purple flowers 3–5 cm across. It grows on gravel beds, moraines, sandy riverbanks and slopes, and is often the first to colonise fresh ground exposed by retreating ice. It is a close relative of fireweed (rosebay willowherb), but has shorter stems and larger flowers. The young leaves and flowers are edible – traditionally they were eaten raw, for example with fish and seal blubber.

Significance in the country

Niviarsiaq (literally “little girl”) is Greenland’s national flower and one of the best-loved sights of the short Arctic summer. It blooms from the south to the far north of the island, and its image appears on stamps and souvenirs.

Where it grows

Along the entire ice-free coast – from Kujalleq in the south to Peary Land in the north, most abundantly on river gravels and moraines.

More: Wikipedia (en)