Plant Life

Arctic poppy

Papever radicatum

With long leaves and a cup-shaped flower, the stems of the Arctic poppy are 10 to 15 cm long. These flowers track the sun, focusing heat into the centre of the flower. On Somerset Island Arctic poppies flower from late June to early August.

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Mountain sorrel/sour grass

Oxyria digyna

Growing in dense tufts, with stems 10 to 20 cm high, this plant has somewhat reddish flowering stems and leaf stalks. Leaves are kidney-shaped, and flowers are small, green and later reddish, grouped in an open upright cluster. The fruit is a small nut, encircled by a broad wing, which finally turns red. Forming dense, red tufts, the plant is easily recognized. The leaves have a fresh acidic taste and are rich in vitamin C, which is why they were once used by the Inuit to prevent and cure scurvy. The flower and leaves can be eaten raw as a sour-tasting salad.

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Snow buttercup

Ranunculus nivalis

One of the first plants to flower after the snow melts, it has basal leaves with three to five lobes. A single yellow flower occurs at the tip of a 5 to 10 cm stem. It grows in wet areas such as snow bed zones.

Nodding bladder campion

Melandrium apetalum

With a striped, dropping, bell-like flower with tiny inconspicuous white or lilac petals, this plant grows on wet tundra and moist meadows, and flowers in July and August. On Somerset Island the flower’s stems are 5 to 15 cm high.

Arctic draba

Draba corymbosa

A small, green, round tussock of small hairy leaves that produce clusters of yellow flowers, it is generally found on gravelled alkaline barrens.

Arctic parrya

Parrya arctica

Clusters of pinkish-purple, large flowers grow on leafless stems radiating from a rosette or long, fleshy,
blue-green leaves. The flowering stems are 5 to 15 cm high. It flowers in late June and July on Somerset Island.

Tufted saxifrage

Saxifraga caespitosa

Small three-lobed, wedge-shaped leaves grow on tufted branches, and one or more creamy flowers form a cluster at the tip of a leafy stem. This plant flowers in July and early August, and is found mainly in damp soil. On Somerset Island the flowering stems are 5 to 15 cm high.

Spider saxifrage

Saxifraga flagellaris

From a small rosette of stiff reddish or greenish leaves protrudes a single, erect, leafy flower stem, up to 15 cm high, with a single large, yellow flower at the tip. It is found in damp, usually alkaline soils and flowers from July to early August.

Purple saxifrage

Saxifraga oppositifolia

This plant has matted trailing branches or dense clusters with small, leathery leaves and bristly edges. The large purple flowers have short stems. It is usually the first plant to flower in late June on Somerset Island, and can grow in a variety of climates and soils, but generally in neutral to alkaline soil.

Nodding saxifrage

Saxifraga cernua

A solitary, flowering stalk reaches 10 to 20 cm high, with kidney-shaped basal leaves. A single, white, nodding flower occurs at the tip. It grows in many habitats, from damp to dry, and it flowers from late June to early August.

Arctic aven/mountain aven

Dryas intergrifolia

Woody, short, horizontal rooting branches, bicolour leaves and creamy white flowers on stalks 3 to 10 cm (1.2 to 3.9 in) high, the aven grows on gravel and rocky barrens in dry areas where snow melts early. Feathery hairs of the seed head first appear twisted together and glossy before spreading out to an expanded ball that the wind quickly disperses.

Arctic willow

Salix arctica

Arctic willow is a tiny creeping willow that has adapted to survive in harsh Arctic and Subarctic environments. It grows in tundra and rocky moorland, and is the northernmost woody plant in the world. It is also the main food source for the muskox on Somerset Island. Since the willow grows much more slowly in the Arctic, a two-centimetre trunk means the tree is approximately 200 years old.