Arctic Moss
Genus: Calliergon
Species: giganteum
The Calliergon giganteum is an aquatic plant found growing on the bottom of tundra lake beds and in and around bogs and fens. It is a member of the Siberian tundra biome. They have rhizoids (tiny rootlets) instead of roots. They have tiny leaves, usually only one cell thick. They can either reproduce by growing shoots or by sending out spores, which need to be wet to survive. When it is not growing, it stores nutrients so new leaves can be made quickly next spring. The more leaves the more they can photosynthesize. It is adapted to the incredibly strong winds because it grows near to the ground. Because it can grow under water it is protected from the drying winds and cold, dry air of the frozen tundra. In the arctic, moss covers the ground and warms it up allowing other plants to grow. It is eaten by migrating animals such as birds.
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Arctic Willow
Common Name(s): Rock Willow
Genus: Salix
Species: arctica
Salix arctica is 15-20 cm in height. It has many different shapes, but sometimes has long trailing branches that root where they touch the surface. Rock willows/Arctic willows grow prostrate, shrub, and carpet. The leaves are oval shaped with pointed tips, wedge shaped bottoms, and have little stalks. They have net like veins and long hairs that cover their leaves. The flowers of the Salix arctica are upright scaly spikes that are unisexual flowers with no petals. The Salix arctica blooms in the spring. In its strongest growth season the Salix arctica forms a pesticide to keep insects like the Arctic woolly bear away. It has also adapted to the permafrost by growing a shallow root system. The leaves of the Salix arctica have also adapted to the cold weather by growing long fuzzy hairs. It has a shallow root depth, which makes them susceptible to root damage. It also has a short growing season. There is also a limited food supply for herbivorous insects. There is also a low N.P.P. (nitrogen/ phosphorus/ potassium) in the North American tundra. This means that the chemical fertility of the soil is low.
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Bearberry
Common names: Foxberry, and Kinnikinic
Genus: Arctostaphylos
Species: uva-ursi
Bearberry is a low growing evergreen. It has a stem covered in a thick bark and fine silky hairs. They bloom between March and June. The fruit is a red berry 3/8" in diameter. Bearberry gets its name because bears like to feast on these berries. Bearberry is commonly found in dry, non-nutrient soils such as sand, soils on rock outcrops and shallow soils. This plant ranges from northern California Greenland, Iceland, and northern Eurasia.
Bearberry is a very useful plant. All parts of it can be used in some way. The fruit can be eaten and cooked with other foods. The roots can be made into a tea that can treat a constant cough or slow down menstrual bleeding. A tea from the stem is used to prevent miscarriage and to speed up a women's recovery after childbirth. The leaves can be added to tobacco or used as a substitute for it. A tea made from the leaves can be drunk to treat kidney or bladder problems. |
Labrador Tea
Common Name: St. Jame's Tea, Marsh Tea, Swamp Tea, Hudson's Bay Tea
Genus: Ledum
Species: groenlandicum
The Labrador tea plant grows to be 4 to 5 feet. It will grow up straight in the southern latitudes of the tundra, but in the colder northern latitudes it will creep over the ground forming a carpet. It has woolly branches with narrow 1 to 2 inch leaves which are smooth on the upper side, with rusty hairs underneath. They droop slightly and edges are rolled under, and are a leathery green in color. At the ends of the branches are tiny clusters of white flowers with protruding stamen, which bloom in June and July.
The part used from this plant are the leaves, which were brewed for tea by Native Americans. The tea is very rich in vitamin C. They were also scattered among clothes to keep moths away. They are also used for medical purposes. Externally it was used for all kinds of skin problems. Tea was used for stomach and nerve ailments. A syrup was made from the tea to be used for coughs. They usually grow in wet meadows, bogs, and forest areas mostly in the lower latitudes of the tundra biome. Bees are attracted to the flowers, but animals don't eat them because they are said to be slightly poisonous. |
DIAMOND-LEAF WILLOW
Common Name: Sura
Genus: Salix
Species: pulcha
The twigs on a willow are soft, slender, and they bend easily. The leaves are narrow and grow alternately on the branch. On the tundra. this willow only grows a few inches tall and creeps along the ground in a thick carpet. The diamond-leaf willow is known by the Inupiat name Sura. Sura grows near creeks, marshes or other wet areas. They can be used in seal oil to add vitamins. Seal oil is also used to preserve the leaves. Willow leaves can also be dried and used in tea and in soup as flavoring. Amazingly enough, Sura is 10 times richer in vitamin C than oranges. It is also rich in vitamin A and calcium. Willow leaves are a good source of nutrients for animals and people of the tundra.
The diamond leaf willow provides much needed food for grazing animal of the tundra, like musk oxen, and caribou or reindeer. The white willow (Salix alba) is know as Nature's Aspirin. The chemical salicin is found in the bark of the white willow. It reduces fever and relieves pain and inflammation. Chinese physicians have been using willow bark to relieve pain for 2,000 years. |
Pasque Flower
Genus: Anemone
Species: patens
The Pasque flower has several stems that rise 6-8 inches off the ground. On each stem is one flower with 5-8 petals. The range of color in the petals is from dark lavender to almost white. In the center of the flower are yellow stamens. Below the flower, around the stem is a leaf covered in silky hairs, as is the rest of the plant. The fruit of the plant is a plum that is achenial, which means that one seed is attached to the ovary wall, like a strawberry seed. It likes well-drained, sandy, and gravelly soils as well as roadsides.
The Pasque flower, like all tundra plants, grows low to the ground to keep out of the cold climate. It is also covered in fine silky hairs, which help insulate it. The Pasque flower is useful to treat eye diseases like cataracts, which is opacity on the lens of the eye, which can cause partial or complete blindness. |