The Chimalapas montane forests cover the rugged Chimalapas highlands of southern Mexico, straddling the boundary between the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas within the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the mountains form part of the divide between the country's Pacific and Gulf of Mexico watersheds. The characteristic habitat is montane tropical evergreen moist forest, or cloud forest, giving way to pine-oak forests on the steeper, more humid high slopes, while wild fig and Ocotea dominate near the rivers. The climate is tropical and humid, with rainfall exceeding 2,500 millimeters a year that ranks the region among the wettest in Mexico, while temperatures cool with rising elevation. Often described as the largest undisturbed cloud forest in Mexico, the ecoregion shelters 281 recorded bird species and marks the northernmost limit of the resplendent quetzal. For gardeners, its native oaks and laurel-family trees signal the kind of cool, moisture-loving, high-humidity plantings suited to mild montane conditions.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.7°N, 94.1°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-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
804 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.
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: