Compass Plant - Svalbard

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Compass Plant - Svalbard


Moss campion, Silene acaulis, known as the compass plant because the south side that gets the most sunlight and warmth flowers first, so by looking carefully at a plant, you can see if the open flowers are the first ones and therefore that is south, or if there are others that have already opened and are setting seed meaning that their side is south.



Photo; © Paul Ward - These are pictures from a cruise around Svalbard inside the Arctic Circle in high summer.