Cassiope tetragona

Summary

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.

Cassiope tetragona
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Cassiope
Species:
C. tetragona
Binomial name
Cassiope tetragona

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.

Arctic bell-heather

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 edit

References edit

  1. ^ John 'Lofty' Wiseman SAS Survival Handbook, Revised Edition p. 72; William Morrow Paperbacks (2008) ISBN 978-1875900060
  2. ^ 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.