There Are Few Plants
Geologic evidence suggests that tundra vegetation, including some forests, covered parts of Antarctica until as recently as about 15 million years ago. However, its inhospitable climate has made plant life there extremely rare. Plants in Antarctica consist mostly of mosses and liverworts, which are primitive plants that do not have a vascular system,
Some flowering plants live in a few places along Antarctica’s coastline, and they only grow for a few weeks out of the summer. Researchers who study plant life in Antarctica can learn about some of the conditions on earth in its distant past.