Can anything grow in a frozen desert?
No soil
No rain
No sunlight for several months a year
Sub zero conditions nearly all year round
And yet....
There are a few plants that can grow in Antarctica. They are no very impressive though. And most people wouldn't want them in their garden, because they don't look pretty or exiting.
Vegetation in Antarctica is mainly made up of mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi which are specially adapted to surviving in extreme environments, in particular, tolerating low temperatures and dehydration. There are, in total, around 100 species of mosses, 25 species of liverworts, 300 to 400 species of lichens and 20-odd species of macro-fungi. The greatest diversity of species is found along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula where the climate is generally warmer and wetter than elsewhere in the Antarctic continent. Certain species of moss and lichen, however, have a widespread distribution and others specialise in surviving in very extreme conditions. In the dry valleys of Victoria Land, for example, where it is very dry and extremely cold, algae, fungi and lichens are found living in cracks and pore spaces inside the sandstone and granite rocks.
There are only two types of flowering plant that grow in Antarctica;
Antarctic hair grass
(Deschampsia antarctica)
They mainly occur on the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands and along the western Antarctic Peninsula. This species extends south of 69 degrees south latitude.Photo by Lomvi2
Antarctic pearlwort
(Colobanthus quitensis)
It grows in the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands and King George Island. It has white flowers and grows about 5 cm (two inches) tall, with a cushion-like growth habit that gives it a moss-like appearance. This species extends south of 69 degrees south latitude.Photo by Liam Quinn
How ever, it must be noted that there is no living plants or organisms to be found once you leave the coast of Antarctica. The interior of Antarctica is completely barren and ice covered. Nothing can live out there.
