The Cordillera Central páramo is a high-Andean ecoregion that spans the treeless heights of northern Peru (the Piura and Cajamarca regions) and southernmost Ecuador, lying near the Marañón Valley in three distinct oblong patches. Above the treeline at roughly 3,200 metres and reaching toward the permanent snowline near 4,500 metres, it is covered in tussock bunchgrasses such as Calamagrostis and Agrostis along with cushion plants, low shrubs, and sedges, often over a mat of lichens and moss; characteristic woody genera include Hypericum, Polylepis, and Escallonia. The climate is cold, wet, and very cloudy, with high rainfall and temperatures that can drop below freezing. Because these isolated sky-island habitats foster high endemism, the ecoregion shelters notable wildlife including the endangered mountain tapir, its flagship species, along with the spectacled bear and northern pudú. For gardeners, the region is also the native home of quinine (Cinchona officinalis), the tree historically prized for its bark.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 7.3°S, 77.6°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.9°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Montane Grasslands & Shrublands
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
4,699 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the montane grasslands & shrublands biome
High-elevation grasslands, meadows, and shrublands above the treeline or in mountain basins, including alpine and páramo systems. Cool temperatures, intense sunlight, and specialized, often endemic flora characterize them.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 52
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other montane grasslands & shrublands ecoregions to explore: