Plants of arctic deserts. Plants of the Arctic deserts of Russia

The Arctic desert is a place with a harsh climate, in which only the most enduring representatives of flora and fauna can survive. In snow and ice, one has to adapt to extreme conditions. Therefore, the plants of the arctic deserts differ markedly from most others. They have a special appearance and increased adaptability.

What are they - arctic plants?

As a rule, in conditions of the polar desert mosses, lichens and grasses survive. Sometimes among the snow and ice there are real oases with flowers. Nevertheless, there are not too many of them - just over sixty, and they are distributed around half the area of the Arctic. The rest of the territory is a lifeless soil with fragments of stones, on which only lichens grow. On sites with very poor soil grow cereals, sedge and moss. Microscopic algae living on perpetual ice deserve special mention, and every spring they paint their surface in soft green. In the warmest and most sheltered places, even the roses blossom, of course, a special, arctic species, known as the new ice swirl. And in the far north you can meet the flowers of the polar poppy.

Features of flora in the Arctic

Plants of the arctic deserts are characterized by intense photosynthesis at low temperatures - at a frost of up to five degrees they fix half of the possible amount of carbon dioxide and continue to do so even with a more colder temperature. The most successful in this are cladonia loserogaya and stereo alpine cassette, which cope with temperatures below twenty degrees Celsius. So lichens survive even in the most severe belts of the tundra. Another of their unique features is a pillow-shaped, creeping structure, through which plants are pressed against the soil. On the ground, the air temperature is higher than at a height of several meters, so it is much easier to survive there. In the bush there are dead leaves and shoots that hold the snow, protecting the living parts from the ice crystals carried by the wind. In addition, many plants in the arctic deserts of Russia and other regions are distinguished by a violet color that contributes to the preservation of heat - within the stems, the temperature can be ten degrees higher than outside.

An unusual shrubbery bush

Many plants of the tundra belong to the shrub. But the siksa, also called a crow, is special - its branches resemble coniferous trees and are covered with small foliage resembling needles. But still it is a flowering plant and in fact its leaves are not at all needles. Simply they represent narrow, not closed tubules with stomata - such a structure minimizes evaporation from the leaf. With its long shoots the crow falls far on the ground, retaining its appearance throughout the year, with frosts only changing the coloration to violet-black. As soon as the snow melts in the spring, the shyksha bush blooms in small flowers, and by the end of summer big black berries with a blue bloom and red juice inside are appearing in their place. They are edible, but quite inexpressive to taste, because of what the locals call the plant "watery." In the Far North, berries are mixed with seal fat and dried fish in a dish with the name of withered.

Tundra Blueberry

Even those who know everything about the arctic deserts, sometimes wonder what the blueberry is growing there. This is true - bushes with bluish leaves can be easily found in the tundra. The shape and size of the leaves resemble cowberry, but unlike it, in blueberry leaves fall in autumn. In spring, it blooms white or pinkish flowers the size of no more than a pea, a form reminiscent of jugs. Fruits resemble large blueberries, but the flesh has a greenish color. The berries are sweet, they contain more than six percent of sugar, so locals use blueberries in jellies, pies and for jam. By the end of summer some parts of the tundra turn blue from berries, so much can grow them.

Grasshopper Grass

Enumerating the plants of the arctic deserts, it is worth mentioning the dryad, or ptarmigan. This is a branchy plant with a sturdy stem that seems shaggy, and its leaves resemble oak leaves, only no longer than a match. They are dense and dark green, and persist throughout the winter, which is not always typical for plants in the Arctic deserts. Discussion of the dryad will not be complete without a story about its flowers - they are large and white, with long pedicels and wide-open petals. Everyone who sees the partridge for the first time, is surprised by the difference in the size of the plant itself and its colors. By the way, the second name of the dryad is due to the fact that its leaves eagerly eat partridges, especially in winter, when other fresh greens in the tundra are often not found. Especially a lot of ptarmigan in the north of the tundra. Often it is used as an ornamental plant and planted on alpine slides.

The Polar Poppy

It's amazing that in such a severe place as the arctic desert, characteristic plants are flowers. The most common of all flowers is the polar poppy, which appears in the tundra from the earliest spring. Under the gusts of an icy wind, pale yellow flowers appear on the earth, surviving even where other plants of arctic deserts are dying and only moss remains. Sometimes polar poppies form whole carpets of golden color. Its viability expressively contrasts with a tender stem and thin petals. The stem can reach a length of up to twelve centimeters, but usually it spreads on the ground, rising only at the flower. Like other flowering plants of the arctic deserts, this is characterized by disparate petals, which, however, are not larger than ordinary poppy flowers. Polar poppy grows in such regions of Russia as Vaigach Island, Taimyr peninsula, the Urals, Yakutia, Magadan and the New Land archipelago. It can be found throughout the Arctic belt of the Northern Hemisphere - in Iceland, Sweden, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Alaska.