The Kimberley tropical savanna spans the rugged northwest of Australia, reaching across the Kimberley region of Western Australia and into the Northern Territory south of the Timor Sea. Savanna and open woodland dominate, with bloodwood eucalypts (Corymbia species) alongside Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) and Darwin woollybutt (E. miniata) over a grassy understorey of Sorghum, Themeda, and Aristida, while the iconic, swollen-trunked boab (Adansonia gregorii) is a signature tree of the country. The climate is monsoonal and tropical, with high temperatures year-round and rainfall concentrated in the summer monsoon from October to March, followed by a long dry season. More than 2,000 plant species grow here, of which about 230 are endemic, and scattered patches of monsoon rainforest shelter many ancient Gondwanan plants; the golden bandicoot is the region's flagship species. For gardeners, the boab stands out as a distinctive drought-adapted native of this country.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.5°S, 126.7°E.
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: +4.5°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.
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
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 grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: