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While these tundra landscapes yield a lot of flowers unique to higher latitudes, the Arctic poppy (Papaver radicatum) caught my eye as they are seen here growing on the tundra edge at Windy Pass in the northern Ogilvie Mountains north of Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon. Look up at the sky to see a closer inset view of one of the flowers. Flowers are either yellow or (less commonly) white w/ hair-like structures on the stem & sepals for insulation. Pollination occurs through the Arctic bumblebee as well as native flies. The Arctic poppy is featured on the Nunavut Coat of Arms & while the stem is flimsy in the wind, it is known to thrive in very harsh northerly conditions. In fact, the Arctic poppy as well as the Purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) are the only two plants documented on Kaffeklubben Island, Greenland, the northernmost undispusted point of land on Earth at only 443.3 miles from the North Pole.
These were taken after descending the limestone ridge in the background. Hiking through the tundra is a chore up here as the mosses are like walking on a giant sponge & the ground is uneven with each step, let alone some of the area is marshy w/ mosquitoes. Looks towards the edge of the trees to see the countless blobs of cottongrass.
More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_radicatum
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