Antarctica only has two species of flowering plants
Over the past week, several posts have surfaced on social media showing flowers blooming in Antarctica, known for its icy and barren landscapes. One particular image that has gone viral shows pink flowers blooming in vegetation in front of huge icebergs. Many people have shared the particular image expressing concern, and have attributed the growth of blooming flowers to global warming.
Here’s the image:
Okay, this is serious, I had just heard of it. Flowers are blooming in Antarctica. #GlobalWarmingpic.twitter.com/O57o4lGlxl
— Shiba Inu (@ShibaIn12153492) September 24, 2023
One popular account wrote on X, ”Flowers are now starting to bloom in Antarctica and experts say this is not good news. This would be the first evidence of accelerated ecosystem response in Antarctica that is directly associated as a consequence of global warming, according to Nicoletta Cannone, a professor of ecology at the University of Insubria.”
Here’s another video carrying the same image:
Can We Talk About It: Flowers And Grass Growing In Antarctica. It’s Not Good #antartica#globalwarming#worldnews#flowersgrowinginantartica#warming#thecorpyshow#news#flowers#flower#greenscreenpic.twitter.com/0Wy5HzwhiD
— Corpy (@thecorpyshow_) September 22, 2023
However, many users pointed out that the image is misleading and fake, and such claims have gone viral in the past too.
This is a Greenland landscape stock photo, but they flipped it. This is not flowers blooming in Antarctica. There ARE only 2 known flowering species found in Antarctica. Their growth has been accelerated due to warming temperatures, but it is the NATURAL flora of Antarctica. https://t.co/IRqc2O8EKvpic.twitter.com/kaIDCONEGl
— Cleopatraa🍯🦋 (@ohhshesbaddmaa) September 22, 2023
We also conducted a Reverse image search that indicated that the image was lifted from Dreamstime, a photography company. The image is actually from Disko Bay in West Greenland and was contributed by Sergey Uryadnikov. British photographic agency Alamy also has the same snapshot.
Notably, Antarctica only has two species of flowering plants: the Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica) and Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis), owing to its harsh conditions. However, these two species are now growing at a much faster rate than before, as temperatures rise and ice begins to melt. Last year, scientists at the University of Insubria in Italy published a study in which they surveyed the two plants between 2009 to 2019.
The study showed that Antarctic hair grass grew as much in 2009-2019 as it had in the 50 years from 1960 to 2009, while Antarctic pearlwort grew five times more over the same period. The region’s temperatures have warmed by an average of 3°C as a result of human-induced climate change.
