- Arctic poppy
- Pasque flower
- Arctic Willow
Red Algae -
Although algae looks like a plant it is not in the plant kingdom
- Cloud Berry
There are not many plants that grow in the permanent ice biome. This is because of the weather and temperature of the permanent ice biome.
Different flaura (plants) grow in different parts of the Permanent ice biome. In the arctic there are many species of moss, as well as over 100 species of flowering plants. Lichens (fungi and algae) grow in both the arctic and Antarctic. There are very few species of moss that grow in the Antarctic. Only two types of flowering plant exist in the Antarctic, and growth normally happens in the summer, which is only for a few weeks.
Plants:
- The cloud berry has fve white pedals and one berry per stalk.
- Red algae is not part of the plant kingdom.
- The Arctic Willow is food for caribo, Musk Oxen and Arctic Hares and it is a small shrub called a darf shurb.
- Arctic Poppy is 10-15cm tall and they have cuped shaped petals to absorb the sunlight.
Adaptations:
Plants, algae, fungi and lichen all have similar adaptations. One of these adaptations is size. All plants, algae, fungi and lichens that live in the permanent ice biome are very small. There is only a thin layer of soil so the root system has to be very shallow. This in addition to small leaves help to conserve water, making it harder to loose water from the leaf surface.
Growing close together and near to the ground helps protect the plants from the effects of the cold weather and reduces damage caused by ice particles and wind-blown snow. Many of the arctic species of plants can grow under a layer of snow and nearly all plants can photosynthesize in extremely cold weather. In the short summers plants use the long hours of sunlight to grow and produce flowers and seed quickly. Some of the plants have cup-shaped flowers to direct the sun's energy into the center of the flower. Plant that are dark-coloured absorb more of the sun's energy. Many species are perennials; perennials are plants that grow and bloom in the short summer months and die in the winter then return next spring. Some species of plants do not reproduce seeds; they just reproduce asexually through root growth.
- Lichen