The Alashan Plateau semi-desert straddles the China–Mongolia border, sitting between the Tibetan Plateau to the south and the more arid regions of the Gobi Desert to the north and east, of which it intercepts a large portion. Its basin-and-range landscape carries sparse, drought-adapted vegetation, where salt-tolerant halophytes and xerophytes such as saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) and Reaumuria soongorica stabilize the soil, alongside wormwoods (Artemisia) and bean caper (Zygophyllum), with desert poplar (Populus euphratica) and Tamarix along watercourses like the Yellow River. The climate is cold and very arid, with frost and snow on the dunes and very low annual precipitation (around 95 mm/year). The region shelters notable wildlife including the wild Bactrian camel, snow leopard, and Saker falcon, and the black stork serves as its flagship species, though protection remains limited amid threats from illegal mining and overgrazing. For gardeners in cold dry climates, its hardy native genera such as saxaul, Reaumuria, and Artemisia point to plants tolerant of harsh, low-water conditions.

At a glance

About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome

Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions