Flowers of the Midnight Sun

 

The sun at midnight above the Arctic
Circle.

I recently realized a dream of experiencing the longest day of the year above the arctic circle, and can confirm that the sun never sets on that day! Of course, I also hoped to see some arctic wildflowers while there, and though it was early in the season, I was not disappointed. 

Much of the arctic flora circles the globe across Eurasia and North America, and so there are some common elements between what I have seen in Alaska and Norway, but also with some that are unique to each region.

Dogwoods (Cornus suecica) in cold northern
climates are ground-hugging dwarfs, rather
than trees. They are thus protected from strong
winds and covered with snow during the 
winter, which protects them from the cold.

Arctic willows (genus Salix) are likewise dwarfed. 

Lotus corniculata is a relative of clover and alfalfa.

Silene dioica, a member of the Carnation Flower, is common
in Norway during the long days of June.

Silene acaulis forms low mats in more exposed areas.

Buttercups, genus Ranunculus, are universal in
temperate to arctic climates.

I had to borrow this image from Wikipedia, as it was
too early in the season for Fireweed, genus Epiolbium,
an icon of arctic and subarctic regions. Photo by
Kallerna, CC by SA 3.0

Wild Geraniums abound in the Norwegian woods.

Yellow violets survive nestled among the rocks.

At a stop in the northerly Orkney Islands,
a ground orchid in the genus Dactylorhiza
blooms.

Yellow flag, an Iris, fills bogs in the Orkneys.

Arctic poppies were in bloom in the Shetland Islands.

Thymus praecox, a relative of Thyme, forms low mats among mosses in the Shetlands.