Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens

dryas octopetala

The Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens is an iconic arctic-alpine dwarf evergreen shrub that carpets tundra and rocky high-altitude slopes with cheerful white blooms. A pioneer species from the rose family, it thrives where few other plants can survive, clinging to cold, wind-swept limestone rocks. Its presence is historically significant, so much so that two major geological cold periods—the Older and Younger Dryas—were named after this hardy plant because its pollen dominates glacial sediment layers from those eras.

Lebensraum: Found in rocky arctic tundra, high-altitude alpine meadows, and limestone crevices across the Northern Hemisphere.

Aussehen

This prostrate plant forms low, dense woody mats typically rising only 3 to 15 centimeters above the ground. Its leaves are small, oblong, and deeply scalloped, resembling tiny oak leaves with dark green, shiny tops and woolly, white felt-like undersides. In early to mid-summer, it produces striking, solitary white flowers, each typically featuring eight petals surrounding a dense dome of bright yellow stamens. When the flowers fade, they transform into spectacular, feathery, twisted seed heads that catch the wind like miniature silver sparklers.

ReichPlantaeStammTracheophytaKlasseMagnoliopsidaOrdnungRosalesFamilieRosaceaeGattungDryas

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens

Kategorie

Pflanzen

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Dryas octopetala is the official national flower of Iceland and the territorial flower of the Northwest Territories in Canada.

Its parabolic flowers act like tiny satellite dishes, reflecting sunlight onto the central reproductive organs to keep them up to 8 degrees Celsius warmer than the surrounding air.

The plant is so abundant in fossil records of the last glacial period that two major cold climate epochs, the Older and Younger Dryas, are named after it.

Besondere Fähigkeiten

The cup-shaped blossoms act as parabolic reflectors, turning continuously to face the sun and concentrating heat to attract insect pollinators.

It partners with symbiotic Frankia bacteria in its root system, allowing it to thrive in nutrient-poor, rocky, and glacial soils.

Its low-growing, tightly packed woody cushions trap pockets of warm air, protecting the plant from freezing arctic winds.

Maße und Details

Länge: 3-15 cm
Gewicht: 0.05-0.5 kg
Lebenserwartung: 10-100 Jahre

Ernährung und Fütterung

As a photoautotrophic plant, it produces its own energy through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, supplemented by soil minerals.

Hauptnahrung

Sunlight
Carbon dioxide
Water
Soil nitrogen

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

mutualism

Arctic Bumblebee

Bombus polaris

Acts as a primary pollinator, attracted to the heat concentrated within the solar-tracking flowers.

eaten by

Arctic Hare

Lepus arcticus

Feeds on the evergreen foliage and twigs during winter when other food sources are scarce.

mutualism

Frankia bacteria

Frankia

Forms root nodules to fix atmospheric nitrogen, providing critical nutrients to the plant in poor soils.

Merkmale

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Sicherheit

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Noch keine besonderen Sicherheitshinweise.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Wie identifiziert man Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens?

Der einfachste Weg, Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens zu bestimmen, ist die Verwendung der Naturführer-App Snappit.

Was ist der/die/das länge von Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens?

3-15 cm

Was ist der/die/das gewicht von Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens?

0.05-0.5 kg

Was ist der/die/das lebenserwartung von Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens?

10-100 Jahre

Was frisst Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens?

As a photoautotrophic plant, it produces its own energy through photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, supplemented by soil minerals.

Wo findet man Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens normalerweise?

Found in rocky arctic tundra, high-altitude alpine meadows, and limestone crevices across the Northern Hemisphere.