page_title: Geography of Norway
section_title: Flora
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Norway / Flora
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Régions biogéographiques des Alpes scandinaves selon l'agence européenne pour l'environnement, corrigées par la direction norvégienne pour la gestion de la nature. Rouge = région alpine, jaune = atlantique, vert = boréal, bleu = arctique.English: Biogeographical regions of the Scandes as defined by the european agency of environment and corrected by the norwegian directorate for Nature Management. Red = alpine, Yellow = Atlantic, Green = Boreal, Blue = Arctic
context_page_description: Norway is a country located in Northern Europe on the northern and western parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The majority of the country borders water, including the Skagerrak inlet to the south, the North Sea to the southwest, the North Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Barents Sea to the north. It has a land border with Sweden to the east and a shorter border with Finland and an even shorter border with Russia to the northeast.
  Norway has an elongated shape, one of the longest and most rugged coastlines in the world, and some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline. It is one of the world's northernmost countries, and it is one of Europe's most mountainous countries, with large areas dominated by the Scandinavian Mountains. The country's average elevation is 460 metres, and 32 percent of the mainland is located above the tree line. Its country-length chain of peaks is geologically continuous with the mountains of Scotland, Ireland, and, after crossing under the Atlantic Ocean, the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Geologists hold that all these formed a single range prior to the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea.
context_section_description: Natural vegetation in Norway varies considerably, as can be expected in a country having such variations in latitude. There are generally fewer species of trees in Norway than in areas in western North America with a similar climate. This is because European north–south migration routes after the ice age are more difficult, with bodies of water (such as the Baltic Sea and the North Sea) and mountains creating barriers, while in America land is contiguous and the mountains follow a north–south direction. However, recent research using DNA-studies of spruce and pine and lake sediments have proven that Norwegian conifers survived the ice age in ice-free refuges to the north as far as Andøya. Many imported plants have been able to bear seed and spread. Less than half of the 2,630 plant species in Norway today actually occur naturally in the country. About 210 species of plants growing in Norway are listed as endangered, 13 of which are endemic. The national parks in Norway are mostly located in mountain areas; about 2% of the productive forests in the country are protected.
  Some plants are classified as western due to their need for high humidity or low tolerance of winter frost; these will stay close to the southwestern coast, with their northern limit near Ålesund. Some examples are holly and bell heather. Some western species occur as far north as Helgeland (such as Erica tetralix), some even as far as Lofoten (such as Luzula sylvatica).
  The mild temperatures along the coast allow for some surprises. Some hardy species of palm grow as far north as Sunnmøre. One of the largest remaining Linden forests in Europe grows at Flostranda, in Stryn. Planted deciduous trees, such as horse chestnut and beech, thrive north of the Arctic Circle (as at Steigen).
  Plants classified as eastern need comparatively more summer sunshine, with less humidity, but can tolerate cold winters. These will often occur in the southeast and inland areas: examples being Daphne mezereum, Fragaria viridis, and spiked speedwell. Some eastern species common to Siberia grow in the river valleys of eastern Finnmark. There are species which seem to thrive in between these extremes, such as the southern plants, where both winter and summer climate is important (such as pedunculate oak, European ash, and dog's mercury). Other plants depend on the type of bedrock.
  There is a considerable number of alpine species in the mountains of Norway. These species can not tolerate summers that are comparatively long and warm, nor are they able to compete with plants adapted to a longer and warmer growing season. Many alpine plants are common in the North Boreal zone and some in the Middle Boreal zone, but their main area of distribution is on the alpine tundra in the Scandinavian Mountains and on the Arctic tundra. Many of the hardiest species have adapted by ripening seeds over more than one summer. Examples of alpine species are glacier buttercup, Draba lactea, and Salix herbacea. A well-known anomaly is the 30 American alpine species, which in Europe only grow in two mountainous parts of Norway: the Dovre–Trollheimen and Jotunheim mountains in the south; and the Saltdal, to western Finnmark, in the north. Other than in Norway, these species—such as Braya linearis and Carex scirpoidea—grow only in Canada and Greenland. It is unknown whether these survived the ice age on some mountain peak penetrating the ice, or spread from further south in Europe, or why did they not spread to other mountainous regions of Europe. Some alpine species have a wider distribution and grow in Siberia, such as Rhododendron lapponicum (Lapland rosebay). Other alpine species are common to the whole Arctic and some grow only in Europe, such as globe-flower.
  The following vegetation zones in Norway are all based on botanical criteria, although, as mentioned, some plants will have specific demands. Forests, bogs, and wetlands, as well as heaths, are all included in the different vegetation zones. A South Boreal bog will differ from a North Boreal bog, although some plant species might occur on both.
caption: Alpine Biogeographical Region of the Scandinavian Mountains as defined by the European Environment Agency and corrected by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
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