Grønafjellet is just such a mountainside. The mountainside here is the easterly part of a larger mountainous region in Fitjar. Mountain avens is the most stunning of these mountain plants. With its big, white flowers, it is a beautiful sight, especially in early June. There are also other alpine species that grow especially where the gabbro is a bit crumbly and gravelly. Moss campion and alpine bartsia belong to these. Other parts of Grønafjellet are more barren with moors, where only a few species are able to make a living.
The alpine plants probably came to Grønafjellet quite early. Perhaps some of the first plants put down roots just as the coastal area in the west became ice-free roughly 15 000 years ago. The glacial surge in Younger Dryas times (the period is named after mountain avens, since it has the word "Dryas" as its generic name: Dryas octopetala). about 12,000 years ago did not reach this far west. One can therefore presume that these hardy alpine plants managed just fine during this cold period. Many mountain species have probably disappeared because of the unfavourable climate with warm periods and too dense vegetation in the 11 000 years that have passed to reach our time. But, on Grønafjell the mountain avens survived, and dwarf birch and other alpine species have also right up until today.
