I Brake for Wildflowers!: July 2024

Iceland is nearly treeless, but reforestation with
conifers from other continents has begun.

As a subarctic island, Iceland has a limited flora, though displays of wildflowers can be spectacular
during its short summer. As a way station between North America and Greenland, on one hand, and Europe on the other hand, much of Iceland's flora is circumpolar.

Iceland's youth has provided little time for endemic species to arise, in contrast with the nearest continents on both sides of the Atlantic. Iceland was created by a series of volcanic eruptions, beginning some 16-18 million years ago, that continue to today. It sits over a hotspot on the mid-Atlantic ridge, and its volcanic activity has gradually shifted to the southwest. Before we arrived in June of 2024, a new eruption began south of the nation's capital, Reykjavik. It's a similar situation to the volcanic activity in the Hawaiian islands which has shifted to the southeast as its tectonic plate moves over a hotspot. Iceland, in fact, reminded me a lot of the island of Hawaii, albeit a lot colder.

Dandelions provide bright springtime
color in Iceland and are even avoided by
lawnmowers.

In addition to its volcanic youthfulness, Iceland was also completely covered by glaciers during the recent ice age, leaving a scant 10,000 years to become revegetated. Virtually every plant species in its flora came from somewhere else. Even the handful of species officially listed as endemic are closely related to species from other continents. By contrast, the flora of Greenland, which sits on an ancient shield formation, is quite rich. A brief stop in Greenland after we left Iceland, yielded nearly a dozen species.

Colonization by Vikings some 1200 years ago and their introduction of both herbivorous and predatory mammals further interrupted the natural evolution of the Icelandic flora. any sort of natural floral evolution.

Much of the lowlands of Iceland were actually forested, but the Vikings' demand for wood for housing and boat-building resulted in virtually every tree being cut down. So the iconic images of treeless green vistas in Iceland is also an artifact of human interference.

Lupines mingle with dandelions for an early
wildflower display.

In mid-June, the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, wildflowers were just beginning to bloom in sheltered areas of Iceland. Aside from the ubiquitous dandelion, the most spectacular show was provided by the blue lupine, Lupinus nootkatensis. One of the plants most recently introduced, it has generated some controversy. Deliberately brought in from Alaska in the mid-1940s, the lupine has spread rapidly. As a member of the Legume family, lupine hosts symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots, and so enriches and stabilizes the depleted soil. Some consider this a blessing, while others call for the eradication of the exotic, invasive plant. For better or worse, lupines have spread widely in cool climates, including in Patagonia and New Zealand.

Almost like a river of volcanic lava, a wave of blue lupine spreads across an otherwise barren Icelandic landscape.

Aside from that, a handful of plant species were beginning to bloom as the summer solstice approached. The few that I was able to capture are posted below. Enjoy.

A lone Iceland poppy, Papaver nudicaulis,
makes an early appearance. Despite its name,
it too is a widespread subarctic species,
not truly an endemic.