Antarctic flora

The climate of Antarctica does not permit extensive vegetation. A combination of sub-zero temperatures, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and lack of sunlight inhibit the flourishing of plants. As a result, plant life is limited to frequently mosses and liverworts. The autotrophic community is ended up of mostly protists. The flora of the continent mainly consists of lichens, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Growth normally occurs in the summer, and only for a few weeks at most.
There are more than 200 species of lichens and approximately 50 species of bryophytes, such as mosses. Seven hundred types of algae exist, most of which are phytoplankton. Multicolored snow algae and diatoms are particularly abundant in the coastal regions during the summer. There are two species of flowering plants found in the Antarctic Peninsula: Deschampsia antarctica (Antarctic hair grass) and Colobanthus quitensis (Antarctic pearlwort).