The Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests stretch along the southern foothills of the Himalayas across Nepal, India, and Bhutan, traversing the Siwalik Hills and occupying elevations between roughly 500 and 1,000 meters. These are tall, multi-layered forests dominated by sal (Shorea robusta) together with Terminalia, Bauhinia, Schima, and Castanopsis, with trees reaching 30 meters and up to 50 meters in favorable spots, grading from mixed deciduous stands into subtropical wet hill forest. The climate is monsoon-driven, with rainfall reaching as much as 2,000 millimeters a year and growing wetter toward the east, so climbers and epiphytes are common in the more humid stands. The region supports notable wildlife, including the rufous-necked hornbill as a flagship species, alongside tigers, clouded leopards, and gaur. For gardeners, the native palette here includes ornamentally familiar genera such as Bauhinia (the orchid trees) and Schima.

At a glance

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.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions