September 2005 [HOME] List of illustrations BACK
The tough little Dryas Octopetala ("Mountain Avens") flowers in desolate tundra environments. Its durable pollen (a grain greatly enlarged, below) has long been used as a reliable indicator of arctic climate conditions many thousands of years ago.
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Dryas photo: S. Weart, Devon Island, Nunavuk, Canada, 2005. Main page flower photo by Bob Skowron, courtesy Rocky Mountain Rare Plants. Pollen photo copyright K.D. Bennett, Uppsala University. Page copyright (c) 2005 Spencer Weart and American Institute of Physics.