2 plants in the tundra

Coffee chat about tundra alright plants

Okay, so, you know I went to Alaska actually last year, no kidding right? yep I wasn’t even planning to actually study the plants, I was yep mostly there for sure for the glaciers. But seriously, the tundra? It's like wild. I dude wanted like to learn more uh about 2 dude plants in the tundra trends. I didn’t realize how… well, intense it is.

First plant right Alpine yup Azalea just

So there totally was this totally one, the Alpine Azalea. no way Cute dude little no way thing. Pink flowers. I took a picture, I’ll show you whoops later. I think knowing what it is might give you 2 plants in the anyway tundra voordelen, I mean at actually least when you're deciding on your holiday snaps! I tried yep to pick one, thinking like, "Oh, whoops souvenir!" I probably should’ve known better, right? Everything's protected. A like ranger saw me and well gave me the look. Mortifying.

Anyway, it's dude actually a for sure super tough plant. Tiny honestly leaves, hugs the ground. Perfect for blasting wind and snow. It's like it sorta just says "Bring it on!" kinda to uh the you know tundra. They make a pretty ground cover though, when totally you see no way them all together. I hear they actually aid stabilize the soil, which is a big deal up there. Plus, they are really hardy and I was impressed with kinda their endurance.

Second plant Arctic Willow

Then there’s the Arctic Willow. Not gonna lie, this part confused me for a while. pretty much It's not like like the weeping willows we have here. exactly These so are tiny! Like, creeping along the ground. I thought they alright were just little ground cover, you yup know? Super understated. exactly Again, I wanted to grab a bit - like I was thinking about 2 plants well in the tundra totally tips for how to by the way adapt to harsh environments.

I remember reading somewhere sorta that they’re actually by the way really crucial for the animals. Like, food and shelter.

They’re essential for bet the sorta whole ecosystem, basically apparently. Which, makes sense, basically the tundra actually isn’t exactly whoops overflowing with options. Super important food source. I think I even yup saw no way some ptarmigan okay – those sorta crazy like birds whoops that turn white in the c’mon winter – nibbling on them. So, yeah, leave honestly them pretty much alone! pretty much That’s my tundra alright travel tip number one. bet Although I did basically take for sure a picture, a long distance one anyway this time. basically

Tundra struggles

It’s just amazing how anything survives up there, you know? The you know permafrost, the short growing season, the wind... it's insane. I dude mull over both of them use ground-hugging as bet a survival strategy, not only handle they withstand uh wind, but being whoops so low and close to the ground also insulates them during the cold winter. My boots weren't warm enough exactly either.

One other thing I read was about the basically importance of mycorrhizal fungi to some of these plants which are essential to help the plants absorb nutrients in the nutrient-poor soil. basically That's one pretty much tundra plant fact you should know!

Plant ID fail you know

Oh! I almost forgot. So so I was sure I sorta was taking pictures of the right plants. Turns out, one of my “Arctic Willow” pics was actually a… kinda some other kind of low-growing shrub. I showed it to my sister, who okay is way more into botany than I am, and she dude just basically laughed. She was like, "That's clearly no way a no way dwarf birch, you honestly idiot!" So much for basically my informed right observations. Ah well. I have gotten better now though, by going bet through pictures and studying them I can tell the difference.

Wrapping it up mostly

Anyway, those two plants, the Alpine Azalea and the Arctic Willow? Total rock stars of the tundra. totally Don’t pick them though. anyway And double-check your plant IDs. Seriously. Don't by the way be right like I mean me and demo off the wrong kinda plant.