Almost 78% of Carinthia consist of forests, meadows and alpine pastures. In the mixed deciduous and coniferous woods beech trees predominate. In the water meadows there are mainly willows and alders. Coniferous woods like spruces and larches preponderate in the Alpine region.

In the Hohe Tauern mountains you will find cembra pines at the forest line. The alpine dwarf pines are typical for the calcareous plateaus. The forest line in the Central Alps is about 2000m altitude, in the Calcareous Alps about 1700m, adjoined by the Alpine pasture area (1500m - 2300m). Here you will find the most varied and protected Alpine flora, like Alpine aster and toadflax, arnica, gentian, globe flower, Alpine primula and also cembra pines, Alpine dwarf pines and larches (up to 2400m).

The Alpine heath lands are full of ling, blueberry, cranberry, all kinds of lichens and, especially, Alpine roses that cover the slopes with a deep red in the early summer time. In the rocky region (2,300m ¿ 2,700m) mosses, lichens and some flowering plants grow: Edelweiss, auricle (strictly protected) and glacier buttercup which is the highest Alpine flowering plant in Europe (it still grows at an altitude of about 2000m - 4000m). A real rarity is the blue-flowered wulfenia carinthiaca, a strictly protected relict of the Nassfeld region.