''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of plant that is very common in the high

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and also some high

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

ous areas further south, including northern

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' grows at a latitude of 83°40'N on

Kaffeklubben Island Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island (; ) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern shore of Greenland. It contains the undisputed northernmost point of land on Earth. History Kaffeklubben Island does not appear to have ever been ...

, making it one of the northernmost plants in the world.

Description

''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' is a low-growing, densely or loosely matted plant growing up to high, with somewhat woody branches of creeping or trailing habit close to the surface. The leaves are small, rounded, scale-like, opposite in four rows with ciliated margins. The flowers are solitary on short stalks, petals purple or lilac, much longer than the calyx lobes. It is one of the first spring flowers, continuing to flower during the whole summer in localities where the snow melts later. The flowers grow to about in diameter.

Ecology

Habitat

''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' grows in all kinds of cold temperate to

habitats, usually found from sea level up to , in many places colouring the landscape. Its native habitats include tundra, arctic coastal bluffs, alpine scree, and rock crevices. Swiss botanist

Christian Körner Christian Körner (born 29 March 1949) is an Austrian–Swiss botanist and emeritus professor at the University of Basel. He is one of the world's most renowned scientists in the field of alpine climate, alpine plant ecology. Life Körner was bo ...

found the plant growing at an elevation of in the Swiss alps, making it the highest elevation angiosperm in Europe. It is even known to grow on

in north

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, at , the most northerly plant locality in the world.

Species interactions

The flowers of ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' may be consumed by certain animal species, such as the caterpillars of the cold-adapted ''

Gynaephora groenlandica ''Gynaephora groenlandica'', the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar li ...

'', the Arctic woolly-bear caterpillar.

Uses

''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' is a popular plant in

alpine garden An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...

s, though difficult to grow in warm climates. The edible flower petals are eaten, particularly in parts of Nunavut without abundant berries. They are bitter at first but then become sweet. They are also slightly sticky. It is known to the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

as . The leaves and stems are brewed for herbal tea: According to many Nunavummiut, the tea is best later in the season once the flowers have died.Official Flower of Nunavut
Nunavut, Canada ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' serves as the territorial flower of

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, a symbolic flower of

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and the county flower of

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Taxonomy

There are a few subspecies of ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', including: *''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' ssp. ''glandulisepala'' Hultén – native to Alaska *''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' ssp. ''oppositifolia'' L. – native to continental US *''Saxifraga oppositifolia'' ssp. ''smalliana'' (Engl. & Irmsch.) Hultén – native to Alaska

References

{{Authority control oppositifolia Alpine flora Flora of the Alps Flora of the Arctic Flora of Europe Flora of Northern America Flora of temperate Asia Edible plants Territorial symbols of Nunavut Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus