North America

North America have a rich flora. Plants from the mountains of North-west America and from the north-east are of interest for a plant collection in north Norway. Plants from Rocky Mountains are of central importance.

Some examples of plants in the North America collection follows.
In the Primula family (Primulaceae) the genus Douglasia have some beautiful species. The easiest, and probably the most beautiful, is Douglasia laevigata. Another uniquely American genus in the Primulaceae is Dodecatheon. In genus Primula we should mention species such as Primula parryi, P. ellisiae, P. rusbyi and P. angustifolia. These related species all have magenta flowers with a yellow eye and must be counted among the most beautiful of Primulas.

Phlox, Penstemon and Lewisia are all uniquely American genera. Phlox is well know in all it`s spring flowering hybrids. Species are more rare, but we do have a few. Penstemon may be less well known. The low-growing alpine forms are the most attractive, and among the best we may mention P. davidsonii and P. rupicola.

Lewisia features about 20 species. Most are easy to cultivate in Tromsø. They are also exceptionally beautiful plants. Lewisia cotyledon is the most common. Other species to note
are L. nevadensis, L. pygmeae, L. columbiana, L. longipetala – and, most exciting of them all: L. rediviva.
The latter have a fascinating cycle of growth and flowering: narrow needle-like leaves develop towards end of summer or in early autumn. These survive the winter and grow on in the spring. At end of June or in early July the leaves wither and disappear, while fat flower buds develop. When these open a sunny day in July you witness something like a small miracle. Very large pink flowers, somewhat like the flowers of a cactus, sit on short stalks at soil level. They close in grey weather and do not like rain, but weather permitting it is hard to imagine a more spectacular alpine plant.

In addition to those few mentioned here, there are numerous plants in this collection, from dainty alpine columbines, low-growing stonecrops, stately blue Delphiniums and yellow Oenothera.