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Flora Of Iceland
The wildlife of Iceland is the wild plant and animal life found on the island of Iceland, located in the north Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle. The flora, fauna, and funga is limited by the geography and climate of the island. The habitats on the island include high mountains, lava fields, tundras, rivers, lakes and a coastal plain of varying width. There is a long coastline, much dissected by Fjord, fjords, especially in the west, north and east, with many offshore islets. The entire country is a single ecoregion, the Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra. Background Geography Iceland is of volcanic origin with the landscape being influenced by water and wind erosion, abrasion and frost action. The Highlands of Iceland, Highlands form a plateau some above sea level, lying in the central and southeastern part of the island, and occupy about 40% of the landmass; they consist largely of volcanic deserts interspersed with glaciers. Other parts of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 genus, generathe largest being the "true wikt:sedge, sedges" (genus ''Carex''), with over 2,000 species. Distribution Cyperaceae species are widely distributed with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America. While sedges grow in almost all environments, many thrive in wetlands or in poor soils. Community (ecology), Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as s or as sedge meadows. Classification Some species superficially resemble the closely related Juncaceae , rushes and the more distantly related grasses. Features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections (with occasional exceptions, a notable example be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.Introduction to Lichens – An Alliance between Kingdoms . University of California Museum of Paleontology. . Lichens are the lifeform that first brought the term symbiosis (as ''Symbiotismus'') into biological context. Lichens have since been recognized as important actors in nutrient cycling and producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise Marchantiophyta, liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaf, leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a plant stem, stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing sporangium, spores. They are typically tall, though some species ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salix Phylicifolia
''Salix phylicifolia'', the tea-leaved willow, is a species of willow native to Northern Europe including Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, and Western Siberia. It was the first bush found on the new volcanic island of Surtsey near Iceland. Description ''Salix phylicifolia'' forms a shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ... to tall. References External links phylicifolia Flora of Europe Flora of Iceland Flora of the Faroe Islands Flora of Finland Flora of Russia Flora of Siberia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Salicaceae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya, southern Tibet and parts of western China, where numerous apomictic microspecies occur.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . The name ''rowan'' was originally applied to the species ''Sorbus aucuparia'' and is also used for other species in the genus ''Sorbus''. Natural hybrids, often including ''S. aucuparia'' and the whitebeam, '' Aria edulis'' (syn. '' Sorbus aria''), give rise to many endemic variants in the UK. Names The Latin name ''sorbus'' was borrowed into Old English as ''syrfe''. The Latin name ''sorbus'' is from a root for "red, reddish-brown" ( PIE ''*sor-/*ser-''); English ''sorb'' is attested from the 1520s in the sense "fruit of the service tree", adopted via French ''sorbe'' from Latin ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betula Pubescens
''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia, growing further north than any other broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the silver birch (''B. pendula''), but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the dwarf birch (''B. nana''). Six varieties are recognised and it hybridises with the silver and dwarf birches. A number of cultivars have been developed, but many are no longer in cultivation. The larva of the autumnal moth (''Epirrita autumnata'') feeds on the foliage and in some years, large areas of birch forest can be defoliated by this insect. Many fungi are associated with the tree and certain pathogenic fungi are the causal agents of birch dieback disease. The tree is a pioneer sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empetrum Nigrum
''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, mossberry, or, in western Alaska, Labrador, etc., blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Description ''Empetrum nigrum'' is a low growing, evergreen shrub with a creeping habit. The leaves are long, arranged alternately along the stem. The stems are red when young and then fade to brown. It blooms between May and June. It is usually dioecious. The flowers are small and not very noticeable, with greenish-pink sepals that turn reddish purple. The round fruits are drupes, wide, usually black or purplish-black but occasionally red. Its fruit persists for an average of 92.7 days, and bears an average of 7.8 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 86.5% water, and their dry weight includes 14.4% carbohydrates and 12.2% lipids, which is possibly the highest lipid content of any fleshy fruit in Europe. Subspecies * ''Empetrum nigrum'' subsp. ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bearberry
Bearberries are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. Unlike the other species of ''Arctostaphylos'' (see manzanita), they are adapted to Arctic and subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe. Etymology The genus name, ''Arctostaphylos'', derives from the Greek ''arctos'' ("bear") and ''staphylos'' ("bunch of grapes"). The species name, ''uva-ursi'', is from the Latin ''uva'', ("bunch of grapes") and ''ursus'' ("bear"), leading to the common name, "bearberry". In the culture of First Nations people of Canada, the plant is called '' kinnikinnick'', from an Algonquian (possibly a Blackfoot) word for "smoking mixture". Description Bearberries grow as low-lying shrubs in soils predominantly composed of sand, gravel, or dunes in the boreal forest. It is less common north of the tree line. The plant has flexible branches growing up to long covered with red, shredded bark and dark green, oval le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empetrum Nigrum
''Empetrum nigrum'', crowberry, black crowberry, mossberry, or, in western Alaska, Labrador, etc., blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Description ''Empetrum nigrum'' is a low growing, evergreen shrub with a creeping habit. The leaves are long, arranged alternately along the stem. The stems are red when young and then fade to brown. It blooms between May and June. It is usually dioecious. The flowers are small and not very noticeable, with greenish-pink sepals that turn reddish purple. The round fruits are drupes, wide, usually black or purplish-black but occasionally red. Its fruit persists for an average of 92.7 days, and bears an average of 7.8 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 86.5% water, and their dry weight includes 14.4% carbohydrates and 12.2% lipids, which is possibly the highest lipid content of any fleshy fruit in Europe. Subspecies * ''Empetrum nigrum'' subs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it the 14th most species-rich family of flowering plants. The many well known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, rhododendron (including azaleas), and various common heaths and heathers (''Erica (plant), Erica'', ''Cassiope'', ''Daboecia'', and ''Calluna'' for example). Description The Ericaceae contain a morphologically diverse range of taxa, including Herbaceous plant, herbs, chamaephyte, dwarf shrubs, shrubs, and trees. Their leaves are usually evergreen, alternate or whorled, simple and without stipules. Their flowers are Plant sexuality#Individual plant sexuality, hermaphrodite and show considerable variability. The petals are often fused (sympetalous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
