ANTARCTICA is an ice covered continent. Life forms normally found in other parts of the world are not found in the region. There atmosphere is not conductive for plants or trees to grow there. Can grass grow in such ice-covered places?
There is a kind of grass known as Antarctic hair grass in the region. It grows primarily in the rocky areas of the Antarctic Peninsula in small, concentrated tufts. These plants generally occur in penguin colonies. The Antarctic hair grass is a fine leaved , perennial grass is one of only two flowering plant species living below latitudes of 60 degrees in the Antarctic. The leaf blades of the plant are folded when they are tender. However, as they grow, they develop into long, dark green, erect stems.
They have the ability t withstand high levels of disturbance without withering away. Antarctic hair grass has a complex and a deep root system that keeps them anchored in their habitats. The roots allow them to absorb water and nutrients easily from the environment too. The grass withstand freezing temperatures during the winter time by losing its long, slender green leaves. This phenomenon helps them alive, without dying away completely.
Here are various more types of grasses and flowering plants which grows here. Deschampsia antarctica is one such of two flowering plants native to Antarctica, the other being Colobanthus quitensis. They mainly occur on the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands, and along the western Antarctic Peninsula
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