It would seem that at the South Pole, in the distant cold Antarctica, absolutely nothing can grow. They say that the climate there is extremely similar to the Martian one, the difference is only in the amount of water. And the very expression "plant of Antarctica" seems to some ridiculous, stupid joke. However, this is not quite true. Plants of Antarctica exist, although the list of their species is not so extensive. And they cannot boast of external appeal.
Historical background on the flora of Antarctica
Today it is no secret to anyone that in the Mesozoic era, the continent of Antarctica was the largest center for the formation of flora. However, global cooling sharply impoverished the plant world of this continent, forced most of the flora to migrate to the north, to warmer zones.
For a long time, the answer to the question "what plants are there in Antarctica" was a listing: mosses, bacteria, lichens, fungi, wild algae, and only a few species of plants of higher order from herbs. However, in 1829, a decade after the discovery of Antarctica, the whole world was surprised by the news that the first flower was discovered on the South Shetland Islands. True, the halo of distribution of the highest form of plants is limited to 64 degrees south latitude on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Every year, more and more new information is opened about the flora of this harsh region. Scientists surprise the world with reports of new plants found here. And today, the question "what plants grow in Antarctica" is no longer as easy to answer as it was before, when scientists were not so actively engaged in research work here.
Freshwater Seaweed South Pole
The flora of Antarctica - this amazing land - is represented by blue-green algae. Together with bacteria and mosses, they cover the bottom of fresh water bodies. These plants of Antarctica form a mucous dense crust.
Blue-green algae - one of the oldest plants in the mainland. After all, their petrified remains were discovered on the surfaces of minerals brought to the "mainland" by scientists. In summer, freshwater algae covers the entire surface of the reservoirs. They adapted to settle even in the snow, slightly melted in the sun. Microscopic red, yellow and green algae during their accumulation form bright lawns, the colored spots of which from above resemble the artist’s palette.
An amazing natural phenomenon - red snow - appeared just thanks to microscopic red algae. It is their strong gusts of wind that tear off the surface, lift into the air, mixing with grains of snow, and drop it to the ground again, creating the illusion of a red snowfall.
According to scientists, almost seven hundred different types of algae live here. Most of them are diatoms.
Antarctic Seaweed
And in the Antarctic seas you can find giant algae from one hundred fifty to three hundred meters long, which are called maktotsitas. The name of these plants speaks for itself, because in translation the word sounds like "large-celled". And in fact, the macrocytas cell sizes are gigantic in comparison with the cells of other plants.
Antarctic seas are densely populated by these amazing plants. Their colonies form the real underwater forests!
Lichens in Antarctica
After algae, the flora of Antarctica is most widely represented by lichens - there are more than three hundred of them here. Lichens belong to the lower class plants, representing a symbiosis of fungi and algae. Some species of this Antarctic flora representative can boast of their super-ancient pedigree - they are already more than ten thousand years old. In the Antarctic zone, lichens manage to grow among the rocks. And, catching the rare rays of the sun, they carry out photosynthesis here.
The variety of colors of lichens is striking. Here they are found light green, bright orange, yellow, nondescript gray and … completely black! Perhaps, most often here you can find lichens with black pigment - a rather rare phenomenon on Earth. This happens for the simple reason that this color helps the plant absorb the maximum amount of sunlight and heat that are so rare at the South Pole.
Lichens have adapted to tremendous winds raging here. Therefore, they hold tight to the rocks in which they grow, forming dense crusts. Scraping or tearing off plants is possible only with a knife. They are called so - “scale lichens”.
There are deciduous lichens here, which even form a kind of outward resemblance of flowers, bushy, which grow like miniature bushes. And others chose for themselves a completely creative place for resettlement - the surface of the moss.
Lichens grow in the Antarctic climate for a long time, since their development here is inhibited by low temperatures and strong winds. There are practically none of them on boulders and young glacial deposits. However, lichens can often be found on rocks long freed from ice. This fact allows researchers to study the history of the glaciation of Antarctica.
Antarctic Mosses
In third place in terms of species diversity are mosses. Seventy, and according to other sources, eighty different species of these plants surprise botanists around the world. On islands free of ice, mosses form whole peat bogs.
In addition to the usual Antarctica, there are liver mosses. Thirty of their species are known. Most mosses are endemic plants, because Antarctica is a continent that has been isolated for many centuries from the rest of the world. These include Sarconeurum glaciale, Schistidium antarctici and Grimmia antarctici.
Mosses and lichens are so adapted to the harsh Antarctic climate, to strong winds and low temperatures that they survive even on rocky slopes open to all winds.
However, most of the mosses that previously lived on land, gradually "crossed" into reservoirs - lakes, where the environment for their habitat is more favorable.
Fern
Such an interesting plant as a fern can be found at the South Pole. It is one of the oldest in the flora of the earth. This plant does not bloom, therefore it does not require pollination, which is very important for the plant world of Antarctica. Without giving seeds, fern propagates by spores, like mushrooms. Strong winds prevailing in Antarctica spread their spore pollen, spreading the plant.
Antarctic Flowers
If the question about which plants live in Antarctica, someone will answer that the flowers, he can raise a laugh. Nevertheless, he will be right. Almost a dozen flowering undersized plants can be found here.
For example, many flowering plants of Antarctica are known to many, such as pike and kolobantus kito, which form small meadow meadow in their settlements.
Antarctic pike
This herbaceous flowering plant has another name - the Antarctic meadow. It belongs to the family of cereal, or bluegrass. Growing on the slopes of mountains and on stony soils exposed to the sun, this plant reaches a height of 20 centimeters. His perseverance and will to live can be envied: not every plant is able to withstand such severe frosts during flowering that the pike easily tolerates. The rather short growing season and the amazing adaptability of the meadow allows it to survive in the extreme conditions of the polar south.
Colobanthus whale
The thick-leaved colobant or bryozoans - this flower is also called - belongs to the clove family, has nondescript white flowers and pale green leaves. The height of an adult plant is small - from one and a half to five centimeters. The plant was also called an Antarctic bryozoan because it is surprisingly similar to moss and has a shape resembling a pillow.
Antarctic vegetation - food products of living organisms
No matter how poor the flora of the Arctic, but here you can also find interesting exhibits. The flora of Antarctica, as elsewhere, is often a food for living organisms. For example, Kerguelen cabbage related to flowering plants, which is used as an edible vegetable. Experts say that cabbage is not only tasty and nutritious, but extremely rich in vitamins. At least, she has already managed to recommend herself as an effective remedy for scurvy.
The cereal plant of the bluegrass genus with the interesting name "tuyesok" can be perfectly used as food for sheep. Most often, this plant is found on the islands adjacent to Antarctica.
The herbaceous plants of Antarctica, the photos of which are presented here, amaze with fading, pallor, some kind of colorlessness. This happens because the pollination of flowers is carried out by the wind, and not by insects, so bright flowers are simply not needed to attract bees, butterflies, bumblebees, and so on - and nature has given itself a rest.
