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Purple Saxifrage

 
Purple Saxifrage

 
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Purple Saxifrage
 
 
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Saxifraga oppositifolia, the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of edible plant that is very common all over the high Arctic
Arctic

The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctica region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland....
 and also some high mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
ous areas further south, including northern Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 and the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
. It is even known to grow in north Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
, at 83°15'N, the most northerly plant locality in the world.

It is a low-growing, densely or loosely matted plant growing to 3–5 cm high, with somewhat woody branches of creeping or trailing habit close to the surface.






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Saxifraga oppositifolia, the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of edible plant that is very common all over the high Arctic
Arctic

The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctica region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Greenland , Russia, the United States , Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland....
 and also some high mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
ous areas further south, including northern Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 and the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
. It is even known to grow in north Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
, at 83°15'N, the most northerly plant locality in the world.

It is a low-growing, densely or loosely matted plant growing to 3–5 cm high, with somewhat woody branches of creeping or trailing habit close to the surface. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are small, rounded, scale-like, opposite in 4 rows, with ciliated margins. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are solitary on short stalks, petals purple or lilac, much longer than the calyx lobes. It is one of the very first spring flowers, continuing to flower during the whole summer in localities where the snow melts later. The flowers grow to about 0.5 inches in diametre.

It grows in all kinds of cold temperate to arctic habitats, from sea level up to 1000 m, in many places colouring the landscape. It is a popular plant in alpine gardens, though difficult to grow in warm climates.

It serves as the territorial flower
List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols

This is a list of the symbols of Canada Provinces and territories of Canada. Each province and territory has a unique set of official symbols....
 of Nunavut
Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993....
 in Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and the county flower of County Londonderry
County Londonderry

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six Counties of Ireland of Northern Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland of Ulster in Ireland....
 in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
.

The flowers can be picked for food. The semi-sweet petals are edible. The flower is known to the Inuit people as aupilaktunnguaq.

There are a few subspecies, including:
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia ssp. glandulisepala Hultén - Native from Alaska.
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia ssp. oppositifolia L. - Native from Continental US.
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia ssp. smalliana (Engl. & Irmsch.) Hultén - Native from Alaska.


See also

  • Flora of Svalbard
    Flora of Svalbard

    There are 164 vascular plant species on the Norway Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. This figure does not include algae, mosses, and lichens, which are non-vascular plants....