ARCTIC VEGETATION. 



5 8l 



needle-like or succulent, as in the saxifrages. They are further 

 protected from excessive loss of water by the stomates being 



Fig. 516. 



Perennial rosette plant from alpine flora of the Andes, showing short stem, 

 rosette of leaves, and. large flower. (After Schimper.) 



sunk in cavities or covered with hairs or wax. The leaves 

 of grasses resemble those of grasses of the arid region. 



1069. Resistance to cold. Besides these adaptations for lessen- 

 ing the transpiration, or for lessening the loss of water when the 

 leaves are frozen, the plants have a specific power of resisting 

 the cold which is probably to be found in some special con- 

 dition of the protoplasm. 



1070. Flowers. In many of the arctic plants the flowers are 

 very conspicuous. They are in general brighter in color than 

 in the temperate or tropic regions. This brilliancy of color in 

 the flowers has been noted by many arctic travellers. Then they 

 are usually very large in proportion to the size of the stem and 

 leaves, often large flowers being found on herbs, the stems of 

 which are so short that the flowers are close to the ground. The 

 summer being very short, the period for growth of vegetation 

 is very short, from two to two and a half months, yet in this 

 period there is ample time for flowering and fruit, since the plants, 

 being perennial, can begin at once to form flowers in the early 

 part of the growing season. 



1071. Warm oases. There are even "oases" in the desert- 

 like tundra-wastes. These are known as "warm oases," situ- 



