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Alpine Bistort
Bistorta vivipara
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Alpine Bistort is a small, upright plant of grasslands and uplands across northern regions. It carries a tight white flower head with tiny reddish plantlets mixed in below the flowers. You can often see it in open, grazed places and along paths.
Did you know?
- It often makes tiny plantlets in the flower head that can sprout leaves before they drop—hence the Latin name vivipara, “giving birth alive”.
- It produces few true seeds and mostly spreads by these plantlets.
About the species
Identification
Small, upright plant 10–30 cm tall with a single, unbranched stem. Most leaves are at the base on long stalks; they are narrow, up to about 10 cm, grey‑green underneath, with edges rolled downward. Upper leaves are smaller and short‑stalked. The flower head is a tight, narrow, upright cylinder 2–6 cm long, white to pale pink. In its lower part there are tiny brownish‑red, bead‑like plantlets that may show little leaves before dropping. True seeds are few. Easy to tell from look‑alikes because most similar species lack these reddish plantlets. Flowers in Finland in June–July.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
meadow
Flowering
Jun–Jul
About the habitat
Open grasslands and pastures, meadows, path edges, wooded meadows, and nutrient‑rich fens; also in upland and arctic areas. Common throughout the country, but less frequent in the south.
Sources
Photo: 王天明, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6320156090
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38232
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Tunturit: tunturikankaat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38232
Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38232
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurmitatar
