{"id":38899,"date":"2024-05-22T15:06:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T13:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/04a0c18d-9d52-4c24-aea7-f4e281327d49"},"modified":"2024-05-22T15:35:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T13:35:40","slug":"are-there-any-plants-in-antarctica-discover-the-flora-thriving-in-the-cold-inhospitable-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/are-there-any-plants-in-antarctica-discover-the-flora-thriving-in-the-cold-inhospitable-wilderness\/","title":{"rendered":"Are there any plants in Antarctica? Discover the flora thriving in the cold, inhospitable wilderness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antarctica’s hostile conditions doesn’t make it an ideal place for plants says Stuart Blackman, but there are some… <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 22 May 2024 at 13:06 PM<\/p>

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Continents don\u2019t come any more inhospitable than Antarctica, where life must contend with the longest, darkest, coldest winters and a year-round blanket of snow and ice. <\/strong><\/p>

Are there any plants in Antarctica?<\/h2>

There are certainly no trees in the frozen south, or even shrubs. On the Antarctic mainland, there are just two native species of flowering plant. Both occur only on the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the most northerly, warmest and wettest part of the continent.<\/p>

Antarctic hair grass is most abundant around penguin<\/a> and seal colonies, where it benefits from nutrients in the animals\u2019 waste. Antarctic pearlwort, a diminutive relative of carnations, forms moss-like cushions bearing numerous yellow flowers. Both species\u2019 ranges have increased in recent decades as temperatures rise.\u00a0<\/p>

A more recent addition is annual meadow grass, a highly adaptable hybrid species that became established following its unwitting introduction by human visitors in the 1950s.\u00a0<\/p>

The peninsula is also home to a few hundred species of lichens<\/a>, mosses and liverworts, some of which even manage to eke out an existence on windswept rock faces in the interior.<\/p>

Discover more facts about frozen Antarctica<\/strong><\/p>