Cassiope tetragona
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
Cassiope tetragona | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Ericaceae |
Genus: | Cassiope |
Species: | C. tetragona
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Binomial name | |
Cassiope tetragona |
Cassiope tetragona (common names include Arctic bell-heather, white Arctic mountain heather and Arctic white heather) is a plant native to the high Arctic and northern Norway, where it is found widely.
Growing to 10–20 cm in height, it is a strongly branched dwarf shrub. The leaves are grooved, evergreen, and scale-like in four rows. Pedicels are long and arched. The plant bears bell-shaped, solitary flowers usually with white and pink lobes and pink anthers. The flower stalks and sepals are red, but the petals may also be yellowish-white. The anthers can also be brownish-yellow and flower stalks and sepals yellowish-green.
It grows on ridges and heaths, often in abundance and forming a distinctive and attractive plant community.
In Greenland, indigenous peoples use the plant as important source of fuel. Because of high resin content, it burns even when wet.[1]
The plant can also be used in cooking. Canadian chef Louis Charest used arctic heather as a smoked herb for the 2016 Three Amigos Summit state dinner.[2]
See also
References
- ^ John 'Lofty' Wiseman SAS Survival Handbook, Revised Edition p. 72; William Morrow Paperbacks (2008) ISBN 978-1875900060
- ^ Stone, Laura (27 June 2016). "Rideau Hall chef cooking up a coast-to-coast dinner for Three Amigos summit". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
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- Ericaceae
- Flora of Eastern Canada
- Flora of Eastern Europe
- Flora of Northern Europe
- Flora of Siberia
- Flora of Subarctic America
- Flora of the Russian Far East
- Flora of Western Canada
- Flora without expected TNC conservation status