Alpine Aquatic Plants
In the summer months, aquatic plants (known as hydrophytes) thrive in the lava-molded, water-filled hollows that cover this area.
The round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) is a bright-colored insectivorous plant. It produces a sugary liquid that attracts insects, which it traps and consumes. The hare’s-tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) is named for the fluffy white tuft that grows at the end of its tips and resembles a hare or rabbit’s tail. The plant grows up to 60 centimeters tall. The wind blows its lightweight seed heads over vast areas. Hosobakiso-chidori (Platanthera tipuloides) is a green plant of the orchid family. Its flowers are yellow-green, and it grows up to 20 centimeters in height.