Specimen · N°010 · Volcano · ▶ Film
Vaporanthus islandicus
Steam Flower
On a freezing morning, steam rises around this flower alone.
FOUND 64.1°N 20.3°W · Geothermal field of Iceland · ✝ EX · Last seen 2024
On a freezing morning, steam rises around this flower alone.
A cushion-forming perennial about 7–12 cm tall, its small dark-green leaves overlapping into a cushion. The flowers are small coral-coloured tubes in clusters. On cold mornings, air warmed by the ground's heat rises as steam around the plant alone.
Film coming soon
PLATE I
PLATE II
PLATE III
PLATE IV
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PLATE VIIPLATE VIII
On a freezing morning, steam rises around this flower alone.
As if the ground breathed there, and only there.
The geothermally warmed lava field of Iceland.
In hollows where the ground is still faintly warm, the Steam Flower blooms.
Small dark-green leaves overlap densely into a cushion.
Upon it, many small coral-coloured tubular flowers open in a cluster.
