The Cyprus Mediterranean forests ecoregion covers the entire island of Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, spanning both the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus and divided between the Kyrenia range along the north coast and the larger Troodos range in the southwest, which rises to Mount Olympos at 1,952 meters. Lower elevations carry maquis and garigue scrub with European olive, carob, and Phoenician juniper alongside oaks, while Calabrian pine clothes both mountain ranges and higher Troodos slopes hold Anatolian black pine, foetid juniper, and two endemic trees, the Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia) and golden oak (Quercus alnifolia). The climate is Mediterranean, warm and dry across the central Mesaoria plain but humid and cooler in the surrounding mountains. The island supports a rich endemic flora concentrated in the mountains, and its flagship animal is the Cyprus mouflon, a wild sheep with distinctive sickle-shaped horns. Gardeners may recognize several ornamental geophytes native here, including Cyclamen cyprium, the Cyprus tulip (Tulipa cypria), and Crocus cyprius.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 35.0°N, 33.2°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11a-12b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11a-12b
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
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
Realm
Palearctic
Approximate area
3,580 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
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: