The Southern Andean steppe runs along the high elevations of the Andes spanning central Argentina and adjacent Chile, a Montane Grasslands and Shrublands ecoregion of the Neotropic realm reaching well above 1,800 metres up toward the snowline. Its plant communities sort by altitude: large shrubs such as Chuquiraga and Nassauvia at lower margins give way to tussock grasses (Stipa) and tight cushion plants like Azorella and Laretia at mid-elevations, while hardy forbs, rosettes, and Senecio cling to the windswept upper slopes. The climate is a cold high-mountain desert, dry with precipitation concentrated in winter and frosts frequent through much of the year. Despite the harshness, the region shelters guanaco, vicuna, puma, and the endangered long-tailed chinchilla, and its rugged, snowbound terrain has spared it from heavy habitat loss. For gardeners, the native cushion-forming Azorella and the alpine Senecio are familiar genera in rock and alpine plantings.

At a glance

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.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions