Discover 300-year flowers in the Arctic

The compass tree has the scientific name Silene acaulis. This is a special plant that can live up to 300 years in the cold Arctic and flourish in harsh conditions.

For nearly six months, the Svalbard archipelago did not see the sun because of Earth's tilting axis. So, in that time, this ice kingdom remained silent in the reign of darkness. But when the spring comes back, the sunlight is flooding all over the archipelago. By the time of mid-summer, the archipelago entered the stage of the winch will always hang on the horizon.

Because of seasonal changes that take place in extreme ways, being able to survive is not easy. However, there is a compass tree whose scientific name 'Silene acaulis' has found a way to survive.

The shape and frame are an effective solution for this plant to cope with deadly winds.

As a mountain tree expert and spent a lot of time researching this compass tree, Norwegian scientist Pernille Bronken Eidesen explained that the shape and frame of the tree are an effective solution for this species to cope. with deadly winds, extreme cold and extreme nutrient deficiency.

Ms. Pernille said: 'They grow into thick arches to retain heat' . On sunny days, although the outdoor temperature is just above the freezing temperature, the inside is at the center of these trees, the temperature is measured up to 30 degrees C.

The shape of the compass tree not only helps them increase the internal temperature but also contributes to the time of blooming flowers. In the polar regions where factors contribute to the spread of pollen are extremely rare, it is important to extend the flowering time.

During the journey around the horizon, the intensity of sunlight will change. This results in an uneven heating of the compass of the compass tree.'Higher cumulative heat sources on the dome look to the south than in the north, so even though each flower blooms for only a week, the whole tree will bloom throughout the month.'

Because of its flowering nature from south to north, the compass tree soon caught the eye of the ancient explorers. They used the compass tree to determine the direction , and that's why this tree is called a compass tree.

In addition to the above effects, the dome structure of the compass also helps this plant to solve the problem of poor nutrient in the polar region. 'This form of growth ensures that the tree (compass) keeps dead leaves inside the dome, so it can effectively fertilize the underlying soil , ' revealed Ms. Pernille.

Compass trees can live up to 300 years old.

In the polar regions, perennial is a common characteristic of trees because 'the growing season here is extremely short and unpredictable'. Compass trees can live up to 300 years old. This means that some compass trees growing in Svalbard today are only slightly smaller than the seedlings in the English period under the reign of King George II in the early 18th century.

According to Bronken Eidesen, in order to maintain the number, each compass tree must only replace itself. So in my life cycle, the compass tree only needs to create a seed that can survive to continue to regenerate, that compass tree 'has completed its task'.

When the flowers die, the temperature trapped inside the dome will protect the development of the seed. However, when the stem is old, the fate of the seeds will lie in the hands of Arctic hurricanes.

Once out of the capsule, the seed of the compass tree will travel into the wild life of the Arctic. In a world where a flower may take three centuries to create a "successor" , tenacity is the secret weapon of the compass tree.