A study was conducted to determine the elemental composition of two plant fractions (leaves and stems) of several forage species in three sheep farms of the paramo in Colombia. The elemental composition of the forage species, and the relationship between soil chemistry and the elemental composition of the forages were also determined. Sampling periods corresponded to the end of the rainy season (May‐June 1987), and the middle end of the dry season (February 1988). Leaves were higher (P<0.05) than stems in the following: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, molybdenum, crude protein, and IVOMD. Overall percentage of deficiencies were related to the requirements for sheep as follows: calcium (88%, 13%), phosphorus (50%, 27%), magnesium (85%, 41%), potassium (13%,3%), sodium (94%, 96%), iron (10%, 4%), copper (82%, 65%), manganese (7%, 0%), zinc (46%, 42%), cobalt (92%, 85%), selenium (77%, 65%), crude protein (45%, 8%) for stems and leaves, respectively.