Flora of the Faroe Islands
Encyclopedia
The natural vegetation of the Faroe Islands
consists of over 400 different plant species. Most of the lowland area is grassland
and some is heather mainly Calluna vulgaris. The Faroese nature is characterized by the lack of trees, and resembles that of Connemara
and Dingle
in Ireland
.
Woody plants: There are no native forest
s in the Faroe Islands, and only a few woody plants occur. Findings of Betula pubescens trunk
s and branch
es in the soil, dated to ca 2300 b.c., and the abundance of Corylus pollen
in deep layers, suggest that at least some local stands of Birch
and Hazel
trees were present in the Faroe Islands, prior to human settlement.
Four species of willow
are still present in the Faroe Islands: Salix herbacea is very common in the mountains, but the other three species: Salix phylicifolia
, Salix lanata
and Salix arctica are only to be found in a few places, due to heavy grazing by animals. Only one evergreen
, Juniperus communis
(the prostrate form) grows naturally in the Faroe Islands, and small populations are spread throughout the islands, though for some reason Juniper
is very common on Svínoy
Island.
Among the numerous herbaceous flora that occur in the Faroe Islands is the Marsh Thistle, Cirsium palustre
.
Introduced species: The extreme oceanic climate, with winds whipping vast quantities of sea salt into the air, make it very unfavourable to trees. A few species from South America
have been introduced since the 1970s, one outstanding for its beauty and for having resisted strong storms and cool summers is the Monkey-puzzle tree
from Argentina
and Chile
. Trees from Tierra del Fuego
: Drimys winteri
, Maytenus magellanica
, Embothrium coccineum
, Nothofagus antarctica
, Nothofagus pumilio, and Nothofagus betuloides
, have thrived too, in this cold oceanic climate. In 1979, 6000 small Nothofagus
plants were transferred from Tierra del Fuego
to the Faroe Islands, making it the biggest Nothofagus population in Europe
. Species from the Alaska
n coastline and islands have also adapted well in the Faroe Islands, especially Pinus contorta, Picea sitchensis, Salix alaxensis, Populus trichocarpa
and Alnus sinuata. The biggest Alaskan Pine
tree (Pinus contorta) in Europe (in width, not in height
), is to be found in the Selatrað
plantation in the Faroe Islands.
Generally, species from the oceanic climate
s of coastal Alaska
, New Zealand
, Tierra del Fuego
and Tasmania
, are adaptable to Faroe, while species from the more continental climate
s of Scandinavia
and Europe
do not show that virtue because of intolerance to the wind and the lack of summer heat.
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
consists of over 400 different plant species. Most of the lowland area is grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
and some is heather mainly Calluna vulgaris. The Faroese nature is characterized by the lack of trees, and resembles that of Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
and Dingle
Dingle
Dingle is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 49 kilometres southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres northwest of Killarney....
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Woody plants: There are no native forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s in the Faroe Islands, and only a few woody plants occur. Findings of Betula pubescens trunk
Trunk (botany)
In botany, trunk refers to the main wooden axis of a tree that supports the branches and is supported by and directly attached to the roots. The trunk is covered by the bark, which is an important diagnostic feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the...
s and branch
Branch
A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...
es in the soil, dated to ca 2300 b.c., and the abundance of Corylus pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
in deep layers, suggest that at least some local stands of Birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
and Hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
trees were present in the Faroe Islands, prior to human settlement.
Four species of willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
are still present in the Faroe Islands: Salix herbacea is very common in the mountains, but the other three species: Salix phylicifolia
Salix phylicifolia
Salix phylicifolia is a species of willow native to Europe, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, and Western Siberia.-External links:*...
, Salix lanata
Salix lanata
Salix lanata, the common name is Wooly Willow, is a species of willow native to tundra regions over much of the Circumboreal Region.-Description:...
and Salix arctica are only to be found in a few places, due to heavy grazing by animals. Only one evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
, Juniperus communis
Juniperus communis
Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...
(the prostrate form) grows naturally in the Faroe Islands, and small populations are spread throughout the islands, though for some reason Juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
is very common on Svínoy
Svínoy
Svínoy is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands, to the east of Borðoy and Viðoy. It is divided into two unequally sized peninsulas. The island takes its name from Old Norse, Svíney, meaning "Swine Isle"...
Island.
Among the numerous herbaceous flora that occur in the Faroe Islands is the Marsh Thistle, Cirsium palustre
Cirsium palustre
Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial species of the genus Cirsium. It is a tall thistle which reaches up to in height. The strong stems have few branches and are covered in small spines...
.
Introduced species: The extreme oceanic climate, with winds whipping vast quantities of sea salt into the air, make it very unfavourable to trees. A few species from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
have been introduced since the 1970s, one outstanding for its beauty and for having resisted strong storms and cool summers is the Monkey-puzzle tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Trees from Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
: Drimys winteri
Drimys winteri
Drimys winteri , or Canelo, is a slender tree, growing up to 20 m tall. It is native to the Magellanic and Valdivian temperate rain forests of Chile and Argentina, where it is a dominant tree in the coastal evergreen forests. It is found below 1200 meters between latitude 32° south and Cape...
, Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica, is a small evergreen tree from the genus Maytenus, up to 5 meters , in the Celastraceae...
, Embothrium coccineum
Embothrium coccineum
Chilean firetree, Chilean firebush, Notro in Spanish , is a small evergreen tree in the family Proteaceae. It grows in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina....
, Nothofagus antarctica
Nothofagus antarctica
Nothofagus antarctica , is a deciduous tree or shrub native to southern Chile and Argentina from about 36°S to Tierra del Fuego . The southernmost occurrence is on Hoste Island, making it the southernmost trees on earth...
, Nothofagus pumilio, and Nothofagus betuloides
Nothofagus betuloides
Nothofagus betuloides, the Magellan's beech and is sometimes known by the common name guindo, is native to southern Patagonia.In 1769 Sir Joseph Banks collected a specimen of the tree in Tierra del Fuego during Captain Cook's first voyage....
, have thrived too, in this cold oceanic climate. In 1979, 6000 small Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
plants were transferred from Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
to the Faroe Islands, making it the biggest Nothofagus population in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Species from the Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n coastline and islands have also adapted well in the Faroe Islands, especially Pinus contorta, Picea sitchensis, Salix alaxensis, Populus trichocarpa
Populus trichocarpa
Populus trichocarpa is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. Its full genome sequence was published in 2006...
and Alnus sinuata. The biggest Alaskan Pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
tree (Pinus contorta) in Europe (in width, not in height
Height
Height is the measurement of vertical distance, but has two meanings in common use. It can either indicate how "tall" something is, or how "high up" it is. For example "The height of the building is 50 m" or "The height of the airplane is 10,000 m"...
), is to be found in the Selatrað
Selatrað
Selatrað is a village on the west coast of the Faroese island Eysturoy in the Sjóvar municipality. The name Selatrað refers to a a breeding place for seals....
plantation in the Faroe Islands.
Generally, species from the oceanic climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
s of coastal Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, are adaptable to Faroe, while species from the more continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
s of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
do not show that virtue because of intolerance to the wind and the lack of summer heat.