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.

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

外見

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.

界Plantae門Tracheophyta綱Magnoliopsida目Rosales科Rosaceae属Dryas

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avens

カテゴリ

植物

レア度

Common

危険度

1/5 · 非常に低い

スナップ

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おもしろい事実

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.

特殊能力

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.

サイズと詳細

長さ: 3-15 cm
体重: 0.05-0.5 kg
寿命: 10-100 年

食性と食事

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

主な食物

Sunlight
Carbon dioxide
Water
Soil nitrogen

生態系とのつながり

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.

特徴

このオブジェクトにはまだ特徴バッジが割り当てられていません。

別名

まだ別名はありません。

コレクション

テーマが追加されると、このオブジェクトのコレクションがここに表示されます。

安全性

危険度

1/5 · 非常に低い

まだ特別な安全上の注意はありません。

よくある質問

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensを見分けるには？

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensを識別する最も簡単な方法は、Snappit自然識別アプリを使用することです。

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensの長さは何ですか？

3-15 cm

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensの体重は何ですか？

0.05-0.5 kg

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensの寿命は何ですか？

10-100 年

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensは何を食べますか？

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

Eight-Petal Mountain-Avensは通常どこに生息していますか？

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