montane

American  

[mon-teyn] / ˈmɒn teɪn /

adjective

1. pertaining to, growing in, or inhabiting mountainous regions.

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noun

1. the lower vegetation belt on mountains.

montane British  

/ ˈmɒnteɪn /

adjective

1. of or inhabiting mountainous regions

   a montane flora

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Etymology

Origin of montane

1860–65; < Latin montānus, equivalent to mont- (stem of mōns ) mount ² + -ānus -ane

Explanation

Anything described as montane has something to do with mountains. If you move to the Rockies, you can call your new house a montane home. You're most likely to find the adjective montane in a scholarly book or article about the ecosystem known as a montane forest. These are forests found at high altitudes, but not high enough for growth to be so limited that trees can't take root there. When there's a timberline or forest line on a mountain, that's typically the highest part of a montane forest. The Latin root of montane is the Latin mons, or "mountain."

Example Sentences

Because of its size and severity, this high-intensity burn area will remain what is called montane chaparral for decades, he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

But by noon, I had topped out in the moss-draped montane forest, a land of lichens and ferns and orchids and graced with sunshine.

From National Geographic • Jan. 23, 2024

The ecosystem types the scientists analyzed -- desert, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, montane wet forest, mixed riparian woodland and mixed conifer broadleaf forest -- cover about 70% of California's land area.

From Science Daily • Sep. 27, 2023

In West Africa, Perret's montane chameleon is endangered and the rhinoceros viper is vulnerable.

From Reuters • Apr. 27, 2022

Only 29 birds are known to be endemic to the island and 17 of these are montane.

From Birds from North Borneo University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History, Volume 17, No. 8, pp. 377-433, October 27, 1966 by Thompson, Max C.