The Svalbard tundra seems bare and greyish as it emerges from under the snow in early summer. But one by one many of the +/- 200 vascular plant species found on Svalbard start growing shoots and flowers. In late June especially the tundra around Longyearbyen seems vibrant with coloured dots. When you lower your nose or camera lens close to ground level you discover more and more little cushions of flowers, mosses and lichens.
As Svalbard was entirely ice-covered throughout the recent ice ages, many plants that occur on the archipelago represent relatively recent establishment events, with plants migrating in from Atlantic regions as well as the Eurasian and American Arctic. Even though I am by no means an expert (yet 😉 ) I can recognize a fair amount of species that I know from Iceland as well as Siberia. Here is a selection of some favourites.
Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) in front of Longyearbreen. One of many saxifrage species on Svalbard, but easily told apart from the rest with its typical purple flowers.Mountain avens (Dryas octopetala) on Sarkofagen. Fossil leaves of this species may be found in deposits from cold periods throughout temperate regions in Europe (such as the Netherlands). Some of these cold periods, such as the Younger Dryas stadial, were named after this plant.Arctic firmoss (Huperzia arctica) looks positively alien!The very widely distributed alpine bistort (Bistorta vivipara) and the not-so-common-at-all crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) in Endalen. The latter is usually restricted to warmer, south-facing slopes. Chickweed (Cerastium sp.) flowers in front of the German Koldewey station in Ny-Alesund. Cerastium alpinum and Cerastium arcticum are pretty much impossible to tell apart, although based on distributional ranges it’s more likely that this is Cerastium arcticum. Another totally alien looking plant; Northern golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium tetrandum). As water drops in the small “cups”, the reddish brown seeds disperse. On Storholmen I found this fascinating patchwork of cushion plants, with a distinct species in each little cushion. Here we see Purple saxifrage, Moss campion (Silene acaulis, with the pink flowers), a Cinquefoil (Potentilla) species and Tufted alpine saxifrage (Saxifraga cespitosa, appearing orange-ish) in the background. The cushion form is an adaptive growth strategy found in many species growing in exposed, cold environments with rocky soils: Forming a dense cushion helps retain moisture and warmth. In Adventdalen, the sporophytes (spore-producing part of mosses) of a haircap moss (Polytrichum sp.) form dense, orange patches on the tundraMale catkins of the tiny but very widely distributed Polar willow (Salix polaris)Another mountain avens (Dryas octopetala) in EndalenOne of few blue-flowering species on Svalbard; the very easily recognized Northern Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium boreale) in BjorndalenA beautiful moss cushion.. a Bryum species perhaps..?The symbolic flower of Svalbard; the Svalbard poppy (Papaver dahlianum) in a bright radiant yellow on the side of FuglefjellaPossibly my favourite plant, and a plant that I have studied a lot: the Arctic dwarf birch (Betula nana). Dwarf birch is common in many parts of the Arctic, but it is rare on Svalbard. Here it is generally only found on south facing slopes in a few valleys around Longyearbyen. Maybe relics of a much wider past distribution, or the result of a single establishment event after which the plant struggled to expand.Thick floofs of Scheuchzer’s cottongrass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri) grace wet areas in the valleys. In between we find the grass Dupontia fisherii, a favourite food source for many herbivores. Arctic bell-heather (Cassiope tetragona) has a very remarkable growth form; tiny bell shaped white flowers emerging from the side of square branches with thick, scaly leavesMoss campion (Silene acaulis). Also called “compass plant”, due to its tendency to start flowering on the south-exposed side of its little dome-shaped cushion. A clear demonstration of just how important even tiny topographical differences can be in polar environments!Another polar willow (Salix polaris) catkin, growing in between sickle-leaved hook-moss (Sanionia uncinata)The Hairy lousewort (Pedicularis hirsuta).. .. and her even fluffier sister, the wooly lousewort (Pedicularis dasyantha)
Rúna Magnússon 
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