Does Antarctica Have Pine Forests? Absolutely Not.

No. Antarctica has zero pine forests—no trees at all.

It is the coldest, driest, windiest continent. Average interior temperature: -57°C (-70°F). Coastal summer highs barely reach freezing. Precipitation is <50 mm/year (desert).

Vegetation is limited to:

• ~100 species of mosses
• ~25-30 liverworts
• ~350-400 lichens
• 2 flowering plants (Antarctic hair grass, Antarctic pearlwort) – only on warmest coastal fringes (Antarctic Peninsula).
• Algae, cyanobacteria, microbes.

No vascular plants, no shrubs, no trees. The Antarctic Treaty System also prohibits any non-scientific resource extraction or introduction of non-native species. Pine forests exist in the Arctic (boreal/taiga)—the opposite pole.