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Approximately 2 200 vascular plant species grow in the Arctic, which is less than 1% of the known vascular plant species. 106 species grow only in the Arctic region. Vascular plants include e.g. trees, flowers and grasses.
Plants are adapted to the environment that is characterized by:
- Severe conditions: Short growing season, low temperatures, poor nutrient availability and draught limit the growth of plants.
- Seasonality: Winter is long, cold and dark but summer is short and bright. The brightness of growing season compensates its shortness.
- Variability: The average temperatures of the growing season vary more in the North than in the South. The differences are especially large during the end of the spring and the end of the summer.
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The typical plants of Arctic fells are small and low-growing which protects them efficiently from wind and frost. In Finland Arctic plants blossom in the marine climate of the fells of Kilpisjärvi region where the bedrock is calciferous and the soil is nutritious.
Plants are able to store solar energy in lower temperatures in the North than in the South. Their leaves and buds blossom often rapidly, which is beneficial in the brief Northern summer.
When climate gets warmer, typical plants of Boreal Forest spread further North and replace Arctic species. Biodiversity is the most important survival strategy of the Arctic environment. Wide genetic variety enables plants to adjust into changing conditions.
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University Researcher Anna-Liisa Ylisirniö had a long career in the Arctic Centre. This page is based on the photo collection that she donated to Arctic Centre when she retired.
“Nature is not only an aesthetic experience, but also full of knowledge. The more we know, the more the individual plants and organisms tell us about soil, forest structure, and the climate.”
Anna-Liisa Ylisirniö
Read more: Plants / Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (2013)
Test your skills - do you know these flowers?
 Alpine Arnica
(Arnica angustifolia)
Alpine Arnica is the big flowered yellow beauty of ravines and fells. The plant implies that the land is calciferous. It favors crags where rocks offer protection from the wind and store heat. Alpine Arnica is endangered and protected in Finland.
Alpine Arnica in The Malla Strict Nature
Reserve.
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 Arctic White Heather
(Cassiope tetragona)
The Inuit have used Arctic White Heather as fuel. The name of plant – itsutit – means fuel for the fire. Leaves overwinter and grow close to the stem. The plant’s annual growth has been used to study the history of climate.
Arctic White Heather is the northernmost of Finland’s dwarf shrubs.
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 Bilberry
(Vaccinium myrtillus)
Bilberries are rich in vitamins C and E and nutritional fibre. Bilberry has four times more anthocyanidins than cultivated high-bush blueberries. Anthocyanidins are water-soluble flavonoids that have many health benefits. They cause the bluish flesh of bilberries compared to the light-coloured flesh of blueberries.
A bear can eat up to 20 kilos of bilberries in a day.
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 Bog Bilberry
(Vaccinium uliginosum)
Bog Bilberry is common in all Finland but in the North it grows lower than in the South. Flowers have a strong scent, which lures pollinators. The berries are eatable but watery. The Sámi have used Bog Bilberry like other eatable natural berries as a tea herb as well as nutrition.
Bog Bilberry leaves glow in autumn colors.
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 Cloudberry
(Rubus chamaemorus)
People and many animals eat cloudberries, which is beneficial to the plant. According to the studies, seeds that pass through the intestines sprout better than seeds of uneaten berries. Cloudberry crops vary a lot. The blooming fails easily for example due to frosty nights and heavy rains.
Raw cloudberry is red and ripe is yellow.
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 Creeping Azalea
(Loiseleuria procumbens)
The fell dwarf shrubs have wide rootstocks and so does Creeping Azalea. The resilient plant prefers dry fell moors and rocks. It survives also in the wind-whipped fell tops. The low mattress-like growth has its own microclimate that can be even ten degrees warmer than the ambient air.
Blooming Creeping Azaleas color the fells pretty in pink.
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 Diapensia
(Diapensia lapponica)
Resilient Diapensia survives Arctic winter without the cover of snow-blanket. It protects itself with other ways like semi-spherical form, deep roots, dense growth and hard, wax-covered and evergreen leaves. Even dead leaves absorb the heat of the sun and in the end they provide nutrition for the plant.
Diapensia blooms in June in The Malla Strict Nature Reserve.
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 Dwarf Cornel
(Cornus suecica)
When looking at Dwarf Cornel it’s hard to believe that its flowers are actually black. The black flowers are surrounded by white upper leaves that look like petals and lure pollinators. Dwarf Cornel prefers marine and cool climate. Fowl in particular like to eat the red stone fruits and thus spread the plant.
Dwarf Cornel blooming in Saana fell in July.
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 Garden Angelica
(Angelica archangelica)
Garden Angelica has been an important vegetable and source of vitamin C for the Sámi. The plant has been used as medicine as well as spice and a tea herb. It is also cultivated for these purposes. Studies have shown that the root the Garden Angelica contains high quantity of different types of etheric oils. Nowadays the plant is listed as a medicine and it’s forbidden to sell its root or seeds.
Garden Angelica has been believed to cure even the plaque.
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 Glacier Buttercup
(Ranunculus glacialis)
Glacier Buttercup is the Northernmost blooming flower in East Greenland. It prefers cool and moist locations like snow-bed sites and brook sides. The color of the petals changes from white to light pink during the summer. Glacier Buttercup is one of Finland’s first Arctic species to suffer from warming climate. It also suffers from reindeer pasturing.
Glacier Buttercup is protected in Finland and grows only in Kilpisjärvi fell region.
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 Globeflower
(Trollius europaeus)
Beautiful globeflower is the province flower of the Lapland. It prefers Northern groves and meadows but it also grows in the southern parts of Finland. The plant is named after the globe like shape of its yellow flower. Flowering starts in May but globeflower may blossom also in autumn if the circumstances are favorable. The flower is often pollinated by a small fly which lays eggs in it. Globeflower is toxic for humans.
Blossoming globeflower in September in Rovaniemi. Photo: Marjo Laukkanen
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 Labrador Tea
(Rhododendron tomentosum)
The etheric oils of blooming Labrador Teas cause a heaty aroma. Labrador Tea prefers mires and swamps forming extensive growths. Even though the plant is toxic, it has been used as a folk medicine for variety of ailments and even as a substitute for hops in brewing beer. The Sámi have used Labrador Tea in garment dying due to its strong yellow color.
The strong scent of Labrador Tea can cause a headache for sensitive people.
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 Lady's Slipper
(Cypripedium calceolus)
An orchid Lady's Slipper lures pollinators even though its peculiar flowers doesn’t have any nectar for them. Lady's Slipper is usually pollinated by mining bees, which accidentally fall into the bloom. Nevertheless the bees return to the flower because of it irresistible smells like their own pheromones. Lady's Slipper is calcicolous and grows in broad-leaved groves. It is protected in Finland.
Lady's Slipper in Skibotn in Northern Norway.
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 Lapland Rhododendron
(Rhododendron lapponicum)
Lapland Rhododendron is part of the Heather Family. It’s lower than many of its relative plants that live in Himalayas. Lapland Rhododendron habitats mainly the fell region of Kilpisjärvi, and it’s protected in Finland. The plant blooms usually right after the snow has melted.
Lapland Rhododendron in Abisko Northern Sweden.
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 Marsh Marigold
(Caltha palustris)
The wide distribution of Marsh Marigold around the globe tells about its ability to adapt to the various circumstances. The plant habits all Finland. In Lapland and in Kainuu subspecies radicans grows by streams and may blossom even under water. Marsh Marigold is poisonous.
Marsh Marigold flowering in Jokkmokk Northern Sweden.
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 Moss Campion
(Silene acaulis)
Oldest known Moss Campion was found in Canada. The age was determined to be 252 years. Moss Campion has adapted to live in the Arctic. Growing densely and close to ground helps the plant to retain heat and protects it from wind and frost. A wide hammock can grow from one seed and be anchored into the ground by a single taproot.
Low Moss Campion survives in the windy fells.
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 Mountain Avens
(Dryas octopetala)
Mountain Avens is the national flower of Iceland. It is the chosen representative of Finnish fell flora even though it is rare in Finland. Mountain Avens habitats rich fell moors, and it’s known for its long-life: the resilient plant can live up to hundred years.
Mountain Avens forms dense carpet-like growths on the fell moors.
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 Mountain Heath
(Phyllodoce caerulea)
Mountain Heath favors fell moors. Its leaves are evergreen, pin-like and leathery, and their oil prevents freezing. The roots also have oil drops, which function as spare nutrition. Like other heather species, also Mountain Heath roots have symbiotic fungus that provides nutrients to it.
Seeds of self-pollinating Mountain Heath spread through wind.
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 Mountain Sorrel
(Oxyria digyna)
Mountain Sorrel is a wild herb and has high content of Vitamin C. It has been eaten by the Sámi as well as the Inuit. Mountain Sorrel can be harmful to people due to oxalic acid. It grows on snow-bed sites and brook sides on the Arctic fells.
Blooming Mountain Sorrel in Svalbard.
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 Northern Holly Fern
(Polystichum lonchitis)
Northern Holly Fern is rare and protected in Finland. It grows mainly on Northern Finland fell regions and prefers rocky and calciferous soil. Its oblong leaflets are up to 50 centimeters long and evergreen.
Northern Holly Fern baths in June sun in The Malla Strict Nature Reserve.
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 Roseroot
(Rhodiola rosea)
Roseroot is named after its tuber-like root that smells like a rose. The plant is a member of Stonecrop family. Roseroot is known as a folk medicine and it’s also cultivated for this purpose. The root is believed to refresh and boost sexual stamina.
Sprouts of Roseroot in The Malla Strict Nature Reserve.
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 Snow Buttercup
(Ranunculus nivalis)
Snow Buttercup grows on the fells and favors moist soil like snow-bed sites, wet rock surfaces and brook sides. The water streams enable the plant to spread by conveniently transporting the achenes (fruits) to new areas.
The yellow flower of Snow Buttercup is large compared to the size of the plant.
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 Yellow Mountain Saxifrage
(Saxifraga aizoides)
Yellow Mountain Saxifrage grows in calciferous and moist soil. It prefers nutritious mires with springs and brooks. Yellow Mountain Saxifrage is rare in Finland and mainly grows in Kilpisjärvi region. The color is often yellow with red spots but occasionally reddish yellow or even purple.
Yellow Mountain Saxifrage blooming in Storfjord Northern Norway.
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 Yellow Wood Violet
(Viola biflora)
Yellow Wood Violet stands out as a delicate flower. The bloom is sensitive to frostbites, and during winter it needs the protection of the snow blanket. In Lapland, reindeer eat the flowers and spread the seeds through their intestines to new habitats. Yellow Wood Violet also grows outside the Arctic region, for example in the mountains of China.
Yellow Wood Violet habits the fell regions and prefers moist soil.
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