Mountain beauties

There are many types of mountains in Iceland and the best known ones are probably glaciers and volcanoes. Walking upwards in the hills and mountains you find the vegetation becomes more similar to the vegetation growing in North Iceland. These are often hardy plants in many cases growing in tufts or small or large rosettes. Among the "mountain beauties" are Glacier Crowfoot (Beckwithia glacialis) restricted to high elevation and common in northern and eastern Iceland, often growing amazingly on rough soils and in rock crevices. This plant grows high in the West fjord and East fjord mountains and mountain ridges. This plant has bell-shaped dangling white to reddish flowers and shiny green leaves and is a joy to climbers and hikers in the mountains. The grass species Alpine Bluegrass (Poa alpina) is found all over Iceland but is one of the survivors in the high mountains. It produces seeds that begin germination attached to the mother plant in a form of asexual reproduction.

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