Biology:Cassiope tetragona

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Short description: Species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae

Cassiope tetragona
Rohkunborri-Cassiope-Tetragona.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Cassiope
Species:
C. tetragona
Binomial name
Cassiope tetragona
(L.) D.Don

Cassiope tetragona (common names include Arctic bell-heather, white Arctic mountain heather and Arctic white heather) is a plant native to the high Arctic and northern Norway , where it is found widely.

Growing to 10–20 cm in height, it is a strongly branched dwarf shrub. The leaves are grooved, evergreen, and scale-like in four rows. Pedicels are long and arched. The plant bears bell-shaped, solitary flowers usually with white and pink lobes and pink anthers. The flower stalks and sepals are red, but the petals may also be yellowish-white. The anthers can also be brownish-yellow and flower stalks and sepals yellowish-green.

Arctic bell-heather

It grows on ridges and heaths, often in abundance and forming a distinctive and attractive plant community.

In Greenland, indigenous peoples use the plant as important source of fuel. Because of high resin content, it burns even when wet.[1]

The plant can also be used in cooking. Canadian chef Louis Charest used arctic heather as a smoked herb for the 2016 Three Amigos Summit state dinner.[2]

See also

  • Flora of Svalbard

References

  1. John 'Lofty' Wiseman SAS Survival Handbook, Revised Edition p. 72; William Morrow Paperbacks (2008) ISBN:978-1875900060
  2. Stone, Laura (27 June 2016). "Rideau Hall chef cooking up a coast-to-coast dinner for Three Amigos summit". The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/rideau-hall-chef-cooking-up-a-coast-to-coast-dinner-for-three-amigos-summit/article30637464/. 

Wikidata ☰ Q2062718 entry