Purple Saxifrage

Information on Tundra & Permafrost

Purple Saxifrage flowers amongst rocks on the lateral moraine by Ankerbreen in St Jonsfjorden. Spitsbergen.

Glacial erratic perched on the tundra at Blomstrandhalvoya, Purple Saxifrage flowers nearby. Spitsbergen.

Purple Saxifrage plant with a lucky hit of reindeer droppings that will fertilise it for many years. Svalbard. Norway

Purple Saxifrage is the first plant to flower amongst the Summer Tundra meltpools. N.W. Greenland. 1989

Purple saxifrage is one of the first tundra plants to flower in the Arctic. Jens Munk Island, Nunavut, Canada. 1992

Female Eider sits on her nest amongst Purple Saxifrage. Spitsbergen.

Corner post of an 18th Century Pomor hut, purple saxifrage growing over it. Sofiabogen, Gnarlborget in Hornsund Fiord. Spitsbergen

Purple saxifrage and a twist of birch bark that has come all the way from Siberia. Worsleyhamna. Spitsbergen.

Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppistifolia) - the most northern flower on Earth, Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Arctic Canada

Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppostifolia) covered by a late season snowfall, Svalbard Archipelago, Arctic Norway

Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppostifolia) covered by a late season snowfall, Svalbard Archipelago, Arctic Norway

Purple saxifrage below Templet, The Temple, a mountain in the Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park. Spitsbergen.

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia Subspecies reptans, the creeping form found in drier places. Svalbard

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia Subspecies reptans, the creeping form found in drier places. Svalbard

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia Subspecies pulvinata, the cushion form found in wetter places. Svalbard

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia Subspecies pulvinata, the cushion form found in wetter places. Svalbard

Purple saxifrage and orange lichen below Templet, The Temple, a mountain in the Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park. Spitsbergen.

Purple saxifrage and orange lichen below Templet, The Temple, a mountain in the Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park. Spitsbergen.

Flowering Purple Saxifrage and frost shattered rocks in Krossfjorden, Spitsbergen

Purple saxifrage flowers amongst sharply eroded rocks high above Tinayre Bukta, Krossfjorden. Spitsbergen

Purple Saxifrage flower with uncharateristic long pointed petals. St Jondfjorden. Spitsbergen

no 3 of 5, Plants and lichen on a shattered Glacial erratic. It rests in a smooth glacially eroded landscape. Blomstrand. Spitsbergen

no 4 of 5, Purple saxifrage and lichen on a shattered Glacial erratic. It rests in a smooth glacially eroded landscape. Blomstrand. Spitsbergen

no 5 of 5, Purple saxifrage and lichen on a shattered Glacial erratic. It rests in a smooth glacially eroded landscape. Blomstrand. Spitsbergen

Purple saxifrage and reindeer moss thrive in the shelter of some rocks. Spitsbergen.