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Forages are the prevailing feeding alternative within the different livestock production systems in the tropic; nevertheless, they often show limitations in quantity and quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and quality of 18 forage species for their use in the high tropic of Nariño, Colombia. The trials were established in two localities (Pasto and Sapuyes). The design was completely randomized blocks, with 18 treatments and three repetitions: ten ryegrass cultivars, three naturalized pastures (kikuyu, Yorkshire fog and cock's foot), three legumes and two forage creeping non-legume plants (broadleaf plantain and common chicory). During the seasons of high and low rainfall, the following variables were evaluated: dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and net lactation energy (NLE). During the two periods of high and low rainfall, the ryegrasses Aubade and Italiano; the perennial cultivars Yorkshire fog, Columbia and Boxer; the legume vetch and the non-legume creeping plants common chicory and broadleaf plantain showed the best CM, CP, NDF, ADF and NLE values in the two localities. The adaptation of the different ryegrass cultivars is a characteristic that affected the quality of the produced biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]