Yes, there are trees in Greenland, but they are limited and mostly found in the far south in sheltered areas rather than spread across the whole island.

Quick Scoop

Greenland is often imagined as a treeless sheet of ice, but its southern coastal regions and a few special valleys actually support shrubs and small trees.

Where trees exist

  • The only natural forest is in Qinngua Valley in southern Greenland, a protected valley about 50 km from the sea.
  • This forest is made mostly of downy birch and gray-leaf willow, which can grow up to about 7–8 meters tall.
  • Beyond that, many woody plants in Greenland are low shrubs (birch, alder, willow, mountain-ash) hugging the ground to survive the Arctic climate.

Planted trees and a “greener” Greenland

  • People have been planting trees in southern Greenland since the late 1800s, and by one estimate at least 300,000 trees have been added since the 1950s.
  • There are experimental plantations and small stands of trees in the south that some locals jokingly call “woods,” even though they are still quite small and sparse.
  • Recent warming and more rainfall in southern Greenland have made it easier for shrubs and trees to grow, contributing to headlines about Greenland “getting greener.”

Why most of Greenland has no trees

  • Much of Greenland is dominated by ice sheet and Arctic tundra, which are too cold, dry, and windswept for trees to survive.
  • In most regions, thin soils, strong winds, and very short growing seasons keep vegetation low and sparse, so you mainly see mosses, grasses, and dwarf shrubs instead of real forests.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.