18. THE ARCTIC

Arctic is the tundra landscape north of the polar tree limit. Some trees, however, just enter the Arctic, like those on the hills towards the south and in the natural forest above the Garden.

Polarnyresoleie Ranunculus wilanderi

Arctic is the tundra landscape north of the polar tree limit. Some trees, however, just enter the Arctic, like those on the hills towards the south and in the natural forest above the Garden.

Temperatures, bedrock chemistry, ridge-snow bed variation, soil stability, and distance to centres of evolution are the most important factors determining plant distribution in the Arctic. Our large Arctic collection is now being divided into 20 sub-groups to illustrate these factors. Thus, the southern slope is home to American and Siberian species, whereas species from late snow beds are grown on the cool northern slope. Mountain avens (Dryas) and poppies (Papaver) are among the most conspicuous species. Some species such as Arctic heather (Cassiope tetragona) reach as far south as North Norway, although not further.

In the collection there are about 30 species which are objects of ‘ex situ conservation’. These are the rarest species of North Norway and Svalbard. Thus Norway would have genetic material available just in case something should happen with the populations in the wild. The rarest of these is the buttercup Ranunculus wilanderi. In the whole world there is only a single population in Svalbard, with a total number of only ± 50 individuals.