Relating to or characteristic of high mountainous regions, especially rocky mountain pastures and slopes above the tree line.
From Latin 'alpestris' (from 'Alpes,' the Alps), combined with the English adjectival suffix pattern. The term is a more formal or scientific alternative to 'alpine' or 'alpestrian.'
Scientists and botanists love words like 'alpestral' because it's specific—it doesn't just mean 'mountain-y,' it means the weird, harsh, windswept rocky zone where trees give up and only tough little plants survive.
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