Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, wind, drought, poor nutritional soil, and a short growing season.

Some alpine plants serve as medicinal plants.

Alpine plants occur in a tundra: a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. It transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as Krummholz. With increasing elevation, it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer, also known as the Nival Zone.

Alpine plants are not limited to higher elevations. However, high-elevation areas have different ecology than those growing at higher latitudes. One of the biggest distinctions is that the lower bound of a tropical alpine area is difficult to define due to a mixture of human disturbances, dry climates, and a naturally lacking tree line. The other major difference between tropical and arctic-alpine ecology is the temperature differences. The tropics have a summer/winter cycle every day, whereas the higher latitudes stay cold both day and night. In the northern latitudes, the main factor to overcome is the cold. Frost action processes have a strong effect on the soil and vegetation of arctic-alpine regions. Tropical alpine regions are subject to these conditions as well, but they seldom happen. Because northern alpine areas cover a massive area it can be difficult to generalize the characteristics that define the ecology. One factor in alpine ecology is wind in an area. Wind pruning is a common sight within northern alpine regions. Along with wind pruning, wind erosion of vegetation mats is a common sight throughout Alaska.

Long-lived perennial herbs are the most common type of plant in alpine environments, with most having a large, well-developed root and/or rhizome system. These underground systems store carbohydrates through the winter which are then used in the spring for new shoot development. Some species of saxifrages have small root systems, but are evergreen. The leaves of these plants store energy in the form of carbohydrates and lipids. Alpine plants go into vegetative dormancy at the end of the growing period, forming perennating buds with the shortening photoperiod.

Seedling establishment is very slow and occurs less often than vegetative reproduction. In the first year of growth of perennial alpine plants, most of the photosynthate is used in establishing a stable root system which is used to help prevent desiccation and for carbohydrate storage over winter. In this year, the plant may produce a few true leaves, but usually, only the cotyledons are produced. It usually takes a few years for plants to become well established.

Alpine plants can exist at very high elevations, from 300 to 6,000 metres (1,000 to 20,000 ft), depending on location. For example, there is a moss that grows at 6,480 m (21,260 ft) on Mount Everest. Arenaria bryophylla is the highest flowering plant in the world, occurring as high as 6,180 m (20,280 ft).

To survive, alpine plants are adapted to the conditions at high elevations, including cold, dryness, high levels of ultraviolet radiation, and difficulty of reproduction. These conditions are linked to topographical slope, ultimately affecting plant diversity and distribution. This is due to steeper slopes causing faster soil erosion which in turn impedes plant growth, seed distribution, and seed settlement. Furthermore, the slope of the topography directly affects many other abiotic factors including temperature, solar radiation, moisture content, and nutritional content in the soil.