From a height of 4000 to 4500 m cushion plants, huge rosette plants of the Espeletia-species (that can only be found in northern Ecuador) and flat bushes are dominating. From 4500 m almost no plant can survive the deep night-time temperatures and above 5000 m the mountain tops are covered with snow and ice.

Low mountain rainforest can be found on the western and eastern Andes mountain sides from heights of 700 to 2500 m. Here the growth of orchids, bromelia, moss and lichen is mostly epiphytic on trees, bushes or rocks without contact to the soil.
The mist forests begins from heights of 2500 meters and reaches as high as 3400 to 3600 m. The north of the Highland-valley is intensely used for farming. There, prairies are common, dominated by a grass-species (Melinis menutiflora) imported from Africa. Often the fast-growing Eucalyptus-trees (Eucalyptus globulus) are grown in mono-cultures. They were imported from Australia in 1860 and serve for wood-production. For ca 100 years now pine trees (pinus patula, p. radiata) from California and Mexico are being planted.
Pine- and Eucalyptus-plantations leach the soil and, as a study could prove, the high water requirement of these trees damages the water-household of the soil in the northern valleys of the Andes-region.