Flora of Svalbard

There are 164 vascular plant species on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, not included are algae, mosses, lichens. For an island so far north, it is an astonishing variety. Because of the harsh climate and the short growing season, all the plants are slow growing. They seldom grow higher than 10 cm.

In some areas, especially in warmer valleys, the plants produce carpets of blossoms.

List of flowers

• Alpine Arnica Arnica alpina
• Alpine Hair-grass Deschampsia alpina
• Alpine Meadow-grass Poa alpina
• Alpine Sandwort Minuartia rubella
• Alpine Saxifrage Saxifraga nivalis
• Arctic Buttercup Ranunculus hyperboreus
• Arctic Chickweed Stellaria humifusa
• Arctic Cinquefoil Potentilla hyparctica
• Arctic Cottongrass Eriophorum scheuchzeri
• Arctic Dandelion Taraxacum arcticum
• Arctic Harebell Campanula uniflora
• Arctic Lychnis Silene furcata
• Arctic Mouse-ear Chickweed Cerastium arcticum
• Arctic Wood-rush Luzula confusa
• Arctic Bell-heather Cassiope tetragona
• Black Fleabane Erigeron humilis
• Bluff Cinquefoil Potentilla chamissonis
• Bog Saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus
• Boreal Jacobs-ladder Polemonlum boreale
• Brook Saxifrage Saxifraga rivularis
• Chickweed Stellaria crassipes
• Cushioned Saltmarsh Grass Puccinellia phryganodes
• Drooping Saxifrage Saxifraga cernua
• Fringed Sandwort Arenaria psuedofrigida
• Hairy Lousewort Pedicularis hirsuta
• Hawkweed-leaved Saxifrage Saxifraga hieracifoli
• Alpine Bistort Polygonum viviparum
• Lapland Buttercup Ranunculus lapponicus
• Lapland Butterbur Petasites frigidus
• Lapland Whitlow-grass Draba lactea
• Lobed Buttercup Ranunculus pedatifidus
• Moss Campion Silene acaulis
• Mountain Avens Dryas octopetala
• Mountain Sorrel Oxyria digyna
• Northern Catchfly Silene wahlbergella
• Oysterleaf Mertensia maritima
• Pygmy Buttercup Ranunculus pygm
• Polar Cress Cardamine nymanii
• Polar Dandelion Taraxacum brachyceras
• Polar Willow Salix polaris
• Purple Saxifrage Saxifraga oppositifolia
• Purplish Braya Braya purpurascens
• Scurvy-grass Cochlearia officinalis
• Snow Buttercup Ranunculus nivalis
• Sooty Sedge Carex misandra
• Whiplash Saxifrage Saxifraga flagellaris
• Sulphur-coloured Buttercup Ranunculus suiphureus
• Svalbard poppy Papaver dahlianum
• Tufted Cinquefoil Potentilla pulchella
• Tufted Saxifrage Saxifraga cespitosa
• Tundra Wood-rush Luzula arctica
• Woolly Lousewort Pedicularis dasyantha
• Yellow Arctic Whitlow-grass Draba bellii
• Yellow Mountain Saxifrage Saxifraga aizoides

See also: Flora of Svalbard, Alga, Alpine Bistort, Arctic Bell-heather, Arctic Mouse-ear Chickweed, Bluff Cinquefoil, Boreal Jacobs-ladder, Chickweed, Drooping Saxifrage, Hawkweed-leaved Saxifrage