The Scandinavian Montane Birch Forest and Grasslands ecoregion stretches along the Scandinavian Mountains through Norway, Sweden, and a small northwestern corner of Finland, with roughly two-thirds of its area lying in Norway. Its defining feature is a treeline of mountain downy birch (Betula pubescens), notable as the only treeline in the northern tundra not formed of conifers; this birch zone gives way upslope to dwarf birch, willow thickets, and open alpine grasslands carpeted with crowberry, bilberry, cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), and reindeer lichens. The climate is strongly continental in the east and tempered by a milder maritime influence in the west, ranging from near-temperate fjord conditions to glaciated high-alpine tundra. Endemism is low, though Laestadius' poppy and an alpine primrose are noted, and the region's flagship species is the Norway lemming, famous for population booms every three to five years. For gardeners, the native woody flora here includes cold-hardy ornamentals such as rowan, goat willow (Salix caprea), and bird cherry (Prunus padus).

At a glance

About the tundra biome

Treeless polar and high-mountain landscapes of low shrubs, sedges, mosses, and lichens, where cold and a short growing season cap plant height. Soils are frequently frozen as permafrost, and these systems recover only slowly from disturbance.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions