Some plants I encounter in Norway.

[Hoy]

I usually spend a lot of time in the low mountains in south-east Norway. It is not a very rich area but some nice plants can be found.The area is between 700 and 1200m asl. and covered by mixed forest up to about 1000m. The forest consist mostly of spruce (Picea abies), pine (Pinus sylvestris) and birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii). The climate is rather dry to be in Norway, and the valley (Hallingdal) near by is among the warmest sites in the country.

Here are some of the plants from last week:



Hieracium lactucella



Myosotis decumbens. Prefer somewhat moist sites.



Same as above, colour variant.



Astragalus alpinus



Viola palustris

[Hoy]

Some dandelions and a wintergreen.

These are 3 different dandelion species.










The next two are Pyrola norvegica

[Robert]

Trond,

Do you ever have photographs of the terrain-landscape where these plants grow?

Maybe they grow in waste areas where it is ugly? Or an uninteresting residential area?

Anyway, thank you for sharing the photographs.       Some of the plants pictured are similar to species that we would only see in the higher portions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

[Hoy]

Trond,

Do you ever have photographs of the terrain-landscape where these plants grow?

Maybe they grow in waste areas where it is ugly? Or an uninteresting residential area?

Anyway, thank you for sharing the photographs.       Some of the plants pictured are similar to species that we would only see in the higher portions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Robert,

I do photograph the landscape also! You'll see later

This is at the forest limit so it is "high" although not in meters (or feet)!

These are from early June:




Looking south: The Dagali mountains.




Looking north: The Hemsedal area.




This is an old peneplain, what's left after the erosion of the Caledonian mountain range.




Norway spruce (Picea abies) is common at the tree line.

[Hoy]

More flowers from July:



Trientalis europaea. This is common from the seaside to well above 1200m.




Moneses uniflora. This one is also common here, but it doesn't flower each year. Out of flower it is easily missed.




Moneses uniflora "Olavsstake" (the candlestick of Olav)




Sibbaldia procumbens. Very common where the snow linger.




Linnaea borealis. Also very common here.

[Hoy]

Coeloglossum viride. The commonest orchid up here. It is tiny though!




Viola canina. Usually an early bloomer but here the snow has just disappeared.




Selaginella selaginoides




Veronica alpina




Maianthemum bifolium. Also very common.

[Hoy]

Silene dioica. It is usually in flower early but some individuals continue during the summer. One of the few with this colour in Norway. The other one is Geranium sylvaticum.




A bad picture. This species is rare here but common elsewhere in the mountains. Ranunculus platanifolius.




Pedicularis lapponica. Not in flower every year.




Sagina saginoides. A tiny species! Easily overlooked.




Geranium sylvaticum is very common everywhere. It is a lot of variation in flower colour and -form.

[Maggi Young]

Tremendous thread, Trond!
 Three of  my  favourite  plants  in one  post: Linnaea borealis, Moneses uniflora and  Trientalis europaea !  A wonderful "hat-trick"!

[Gabriela]

Very nice Trond. I like a lot  the open landscapes views you often show from Norway mountains.

It is rare to see the beautiful Moneses in big numbers, it must be a very nicely preserved area.
I spot with my little eye some Pinguicula leaves in the Selaginella picture?

[David Nicholson]

Very interesting thread Trond.

[Hoy]

Tremendous thread, Trond!
 Three of  my  favourite  plants  in one  post: Linnaea borealis, Moneses uniflora and  Trientalis europaea !  A wonderful "hat-trick"!

Thank you very much Maggie!

Do you have your favorites growing wild close to where you live? I reckon they are native in Scotland also.

[Hoy]

Very nice Trond. I like a lot  the open landscapes views you often show from Norway mountains.

It is rare to see the beautiful Moneses in big numbers, it must be a very nicely preserved area.
I spot with my little eye some Pinguicula leaves in the Selaginella picture?

Thank you Gabriela!

The open landscape above treeline were previously used by livestock. The animals were shepherded by little boys during summer. At that time the forest line was much lower. The last 50 years only sheep have grazed the area. It is also a lot of cabins and chalets up here, most of them built the last 20 years. Some places look like towns.

And yes, it is rare to see hundreds of Moneses at once, it doesn't happen every year. But in the 10s is more common.

Pinguicula vulgaris is also very common. Here is an uncommon colour I spotted.

[Hoy]

Very interesting thread Trond.

Thank you David!

[Maggi Young]

Thank you very much Maggie!

Do you have your favorites growing wild close to where you live? I reckon they are native in Scotland also.

  The  Linnaea is  the  hardest  to find - only  in a  few  areas  and  being  so tiny is' tough to find  it  even  if  you know  where to look! The  other  two are  a  bit easier  to see but  the  Moneses  isn't  plentiful at the  best  of times.

[Mariette]

Thank You for Your impressing pictures and information, Trond! I like the way You appreciate the flora of Your home country. In Sweden, I´ve seen Linnea borealis only once - its habitat there is severely reduced by the industrialized forrestry management. The bicoloured Pinguicula You discovered is of special beauty!