Abstract
Equatorial mountain regions of East Africa, the northern Andes in South America, and New Guinea differ considerably in their physiographic setting. In East Africa, the mountains rise as solitary peaks from an extensive lowland plateau, whereas the northern Andes form continuous chains of parallel mountain ranges, the settings similar to the Andes are also found in New Guinea.
We examine alpine plants species composition of the East African high mountains, superpáramo inslands in the equatorial Andes, and mountain ranges in New Guinea by means of multivariate data analysis, and compare patterns of phytogeographic gradients between the regions.