WHAT ARE ALPINE PLANTS?
Strictly speaking, the acknowledged habitat of true alpine plants, as classed by botanists, is between the limit of coniferous tree growth, (the Treeline) and the permanent snow line. This area can be found at or near sea level in arctic regions and can be above 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) in mountain regions. Some will be found tightly wedged between cracks and fissures on rocky cliff faces, whilst others grow on steep shifting scree slopes. Many are the travelers who have risked life and limb to get a closer look at these alpine aristocrats growing in these inaccessible places. However, the alpine gardener has expanded the range of habitats to include the alpine meadows and valleys, the cool earthy-smelling forests and woodlands; the prairies, tundra and steppes and the regions too dry to support a forest; but not dry enough to be a classed as a desert. In general then, (from the point of the alpine gardener) an alpine plant is a reasonably hardy perennial, of compact habit and doesn’t
