The Esperance mallee stretches along the south coast of Western Australia, aggregating the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions. Its defining vegetation is eucalyptus mallee, multi-stemmed eucalypts that resprout from an underground lignotuber after fire, interwoven with myrtle and protea heathlands and Melaleuca shrublands; characteristic species include the sand mallee (Eucalyptus eremophila) and salmon gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia). The Mediterranean climate brings extended dry summers, and plants here are adapted to poor soils, low rainfall, and regular fire. The region sits within one of the world's great concentrations of endemic plants, yet farming and grazing have cleared or degraded much of it, leaving it conservation-critical; its flagship animal is the red-winged fairywren. For gardeners, the mallee eucalypts and Melaleuca and protea-family shrubs native here are well suited to dry-summer, lean-soil plantings.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 33.3°S, 120.6°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: +2.0°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
Australasia
Approximate area
39,853 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
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: