The Chiapas montane forests cloak the northern and northeastern slopes of the Chiapas highlands in southern Mexico, extending into western Guatemala, where they sit between the lowland moist forests below and the cooler pine-oak forests above. The predominant habitat is mountain cloud forest, with American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) the most representative canopy tree alongside oak, alder (Alnus), and majagua (Trichospermum mexicanum), beneath a heavy load of epiphytic lichens and mosses. The climate is humid and notably wet, with persistent mist and temperatures that grow cooler than the adjacent lowlands as elevation rises. These forests are a stronghold of endemism, harboring a large share of Mexico's mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians and at least 31 of Chiapas's 50 endemic vertebrates, yet they are classed as critically endangered with only a small fraction formally protected. For gardeners, the native sweetgum and alder are both familiar ornamental and landscape trees prized for their form and autumn or fast-growing character.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 17.1°N, 92.7°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.3°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
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
2,231 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
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 · 4
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.
These plants fit the ecoregion as it is today, but the mid-century projection moves them outside their stated zone range — plan for them to struggle by 2070.
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 tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: