Paramo
Also found in: Dictionary.
paramo
[′pär·ə‚mō] (ecology)
A biological community, essentially a grassland, covering extensive high areas in equatorial mountains of the Western Hemisphere.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Paramo
high-mountain evergreen vegetation of the Equatorial Andes of Central and South America. Paramos are found at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m. They consist of sparse stands of low trees (2–5 m tall), chiefly pines and yuccas (mostly of the family Compositae). The herbaceous cover includes caespitose xerophyllic grasses with some pulvinate and rosette plants.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.