This research was carried out in La Poma Ecological Park, which is located on the Sabana de Bogotá and corresponds to an area of Lower Montane dry forest. Frequent incidences of frost means that it is a challenging environment for vegetation growth. Leaf components, patterns of canopy architecture and functional growth parameters were evaluated and characterized for populations of Abatia parviflora (Ap), Dodonaea viscosa (Dv), Escallonia paniculata(Ep), Baccharis macrantha (Bm) and Quercus humboldtii (Qh) that ranged in age from one to ten years. We hypothesized that particular growth tendencies were associated with a specific architectural pattern. Morphometric leaf, canopy architecture and functional growth variables were evaluated for these species. An Anova (P <0.05) was performed for each variable along with a multiple range Tukey test that separated the means. We found that the species with higher photosynthetic efficiency and higher dry matter accumulation capacity expressed in biomass were Qh and Dv. These species have an erectophil canopy with the highest light absorption. The other species (Ap, Ep, and Bm) have planophil and plagiophil canopies that have a lower productive capacity. This work provides information on the potential use of woody shrub species in environments where trees have restricted growth. ; Esta investigación se realizó en el Parque Ecológico la Poma que hace parte de los paisajes de la Sabana de Bogotá y corresponde a un bosque seco Montano Bajo (bs-Mb), con presencia recurrente de heladas, lo que genera un ambiente crítico para el crecimiento de la vegetación. Se evaluó y se caracterizó el componente foliar, los patrones que definen la arquitectura de dosel y los parámetros de crecimiento funcional, para poblaciones de las especies Abatia parviflora (Ap), Dodonaea viscosa (Dv), Escallonia paniculata (Ep), Baccharis macrantha (Bm)y Quercus humboldtii (Qh), con edades entre uno y diez años, bajo la hipótesis que plantea la existencia de tendencias particulares de crecimiento ...