In the arctic, plants have to be very sturdy.
There are grasses, moss, lichen and flowers. The soil is only a few centimeters
deep, but it is spread out far and wide. You won’t see any bare soil
there because it is generally covered with snow or plant life.
The arctic does not have many plants. It has some flowers, shrubs and moss.
You won’t see many there, so you don’t have to worry about tree
branches in your way.
Lichen is a plant that grows on the surface of rocks. (It is part of the moss
family, and is a mix of fungi and alge.) There are many types of lichen. In
the fall it changes color. This plant is a favorite of musk oxen and caribou.
Another plant found in the arctic is the cloud berry. It is a flower with
five white pedals and one berry per stalk. The fruit on it is red when not
ripe, when it is ripe it is soft and orange. The plant has large green leaves.
The flower is the smallest plant in the rose family. You can find it in moist
parts of the arctic. Their relatives produce berries too known as the nagoonberry,
blackberry, raspberry and thimbleberry.