• Barren ground of the alpine biome.alpine memorila image by michael luckett from Fotolia.com
  
  The few plants that live in the alpine biome have to fight for survival. Rocky, sandy soil and dry conditions bring additional challenges for plants as they cling to poor soil. Due to the tough growing conditions, the flora found in the alpine biome has a fragile nature.
  
  

Alpine Phacelia

• A bell shaped flower, alpine phacelia (Phacelia sericea) blooms in vibrant hues of blue, violet or white against the rock face of a mountainside. The hairy lobed leaves cling to the stems, which spring up from a single taproot. The blooms sprout in groups of 10 to 100, up to 2 feet tall, and produce long furry looking anthers that extend past the flowers, according to Blue Planet Biomes. Appearing mid summer, alpine phacelia grow in nearly all mountain ranges found throughout the earth.
  
  

Alpenrose

• An evergreen shrub that grows wider than it does tall, the alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum) commonly occurs in the European Alps and Pyrenees mountains. A dwarf species, it thrives in the cool temperatures and rocky soil found in the alpine biome. The deep pink to crimson flowers that bloom in rounded clumps appear early to mid summer.
  
  

Edelweiss

• Edelweiss2 edelweiss image by John Maldoror from Fotolia.com
  
  One of the most well known alpine flowers, according to Alparc, the edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) thrives beneath overhanging mountain cliffs. Short plants, growing merely 6 to 12 inches in height, its silver leaves nestle in dense, wool-like covering. The inconspicuous star-shaped flowers emerge from the center of the plant in clusters of three to four.
  
  

Gentian

• The deep blue of gentian flowers.Gentiane acaule ou de Koch 1 image by photopat from Fotolia.com
  
  Best identified by its bright, large, deep blue flowers that sprinkle alpine biomes, gentian flowers also bloom in pink, red and yellow. A huge family that encompasses over 1,600 species, according to the Gentian Research Network, they take the form of herbs, shrubs, lianas and even trees in some parts of the world. The smooth leaves grow opposite one another with a prominent midrib running down the center of each leaf.
  
  

Moss Campion

• Characteristic of the alpine plants that grow close to the ground for protection from the wind and cold, the moss campion (Silene acaulis) develops a mere 2 to 6 inches in height. Miniscule green leaves, soft to the touch, form a mounded shape peppered with tiny pink flowers. Well adapted to both lower and higher alpine regions, writes Blue Planet Biomes, the moss campion grows in both the Rocky Mountains and the Swiss Alps.