Can a Plant Grow Through Ice?

The blue moonwort, a member of the primrose family, can. It grows on the Swiss Alps, where it is covered by several feet of ice and snow throughout the winter. This does not seem to discourage the moonwort at all.

With the coming of spring, the moonwort's roots drink up a bit of water from the melting snow, its perking buds give off a little heat, and its stem starts pushing up.

After a while, the tough little plant bores through the ice and snow to the outside world of sun and air.