- Flora of the Faroe Islands
The natural vegetation of the
Faroe Islands consists of ca. 400 different plant species. Most of the lowland area isgrassland and some isheather mainlyCalluna vulgaris . The faroese nature is characterized by the lack of trees, and resembles that ofConnemara andDingle inIreland and theScottish Islands ."Woody plants:" There are no native
forest s in the Faroe Islands, and only a few woody plants occur. Findings ofBetula pubescens trunk s andbranch es in the soil, dated to ca 2300 b.c., and the abundance ofCorylus pollen in deep layers, suggest that at least some local stands ofBirch andHazel trees were present in the Faroe Islands, prior to human settlement.4 Species of
Willow s are still present in the Faroe Islands:Salix herbacea is very common in the mountains, but the other 3 species:Salix phylicifolia ,Salix lanata andSalix arctica are only to be found in a few places, due to heavy grazing by animals. Only oneevergreen ,Juniperus communis (theprostrate form) grows naturally in the Faroe Islands, and small populations are spread throughout the islands, though for some reasonJuniper is very common onSvínoy Island."Introduced species:" The extreme oceanic climate, with winds whiping vast quantities of sea salt into the air, make it very unfavourable to trees. A few species from
South America have been introduced since the 1970's, one outstanding for its beauty and for having resisted strong storms and cool summers is theMonkey-puzzle tree fromChile . Trees fromTierra del Fuego :Drimys winteri ,Maytenus magellanica ,Embothrium coccineum ,Nothofagus antarctica ,Nothofagus pumilio , andNothofagus betuloides , have thrived too, in this cold oceanic climate. In1979 , 6000 smallNothofagus plants were transferred fromTierra del Fuego to the Faroe Islands, making it the biggest Nothofagus population inEurope . Species from theAlaska n coastline and islands have also adopted well in the Faroe Islands, especiallyPinus contorta ,Picea sitchensis ,Salix alaxensis ,Populus trichocarpa andAlnus sinuata . The biggest AlaskanPine tree (Pinus contorta ) in Europe (inwidth , not inheight ), is to be found in theSelatrað plantation in the Faroe Islands.Generally, species from the
oceanic climate s ofcoastal Alaska ,New Zealand ,Tierra del Fuego andTasmania , are adaptable to Faroe, while species from the morecontinental climate s ofScandinavia andEurope do not show that virtue because of intolerance to the wind and the lack of summer heat. [ Højgaard, A., J. Jóhansen, and S. Ødum (eds) 1989. A century of tree planting in the Faroe Islands. Føroya Frodskaparfelag, Torshavn.]References
Further reading
* Warming, E. ed. (1901-1908)Botany of the Faeroes - based upon Danish investigations, vol. I-III. Copenhagen and London.
* Degelius, Gunnar. "Notes on the Lichen Flora of the Faroe Islands". 1966.
* Irvine, David E. G., Ian Tittley, W. F. Farnham, Peter W. G. Gray, and James H. Price. "Seaweeds of the Faroes". London: British Museum (Natural History), 1982.
* Lewinsky, Jette, and Jóhannes Jóhansen. "The Vegetation and Bryophyte Flora of the Faroe Islands (Denmark) Excursion Guide". Berlin: XIV International Botanical Congress, 1987.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.