Monday 21 March 2011

Arctic flora in coming spring

Yesterday, March 20, was the spring equinox. Time for renewal and blossom.

Spring is coming back to the arctic some days earlier each year, and while the arctic ice starts to melt, here and there, some little arctic plants and flowers bloom bright in the increasing sunlight and warmth.

During this time the Arctic is a colorful mosaic of flowering species, while the white snow is just a few meters away, in an inconceivable coexistance.

Arctic poppies (Papaver radicatum)

Buttercup (Ranunculus pygmaeus)

Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)

Moss Campion (Silene acaulis)

Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus)

Bellardi bog sedge (Kobresia Myosuroides)

Snow pearlwort (Sagina nivalis)