The Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests ecoregion covers the five western islands of Spain's Canary Archipelago—La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria—volcanic islands in the Atlantic roughly 115 km off the northwest African coast. Vegetation sorts itself by elevation: lowland scrub and open woodland with the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) and dragon trees give way to humid laurisilva (laurel) forest between about 500 and 1,400 m, fayal-brezal heath of Myrica faya and tree heath (Erica arborea), and forests of the endemic Canary Island pine. The climate is dry and warm, with rain falling mainly in winter and the moist northeasterly trade winds making windward slopes far wetter than the southwestern rain shadow. Despite their small area, the islands are exceptionally rich in endemic and relict species, including endemic birds such as Bolle's pigeon and the Tenerife blue chaffinch, and a large share of the archipelago's vascular flora is found nowhere else. Conservation is significant here, with about 52% of the ecoregion protected within parks such as Teide and Garajonay National Parks.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 28.3°N, 16.6°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11b-13a
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.1°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Realm
Palearctic
Approximate area
1,920 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
About the mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub biome
Regions of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters supporting drought-adapted shrublands — chaparral, maquis, fynbos — and open woodlands. Fire is a natural shaping force, and these climates hold extraordinary plant diversity and endemism.
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.
Climate-resilient picks · 52
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other mediterranean forests, woodlands & scrub ecoregions to explore: