The Kuh Rud and Eastern Iran montane woodlands form a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion spread across several disjointed mountain ranges in central and eastern Iran, extending more than 800 kilometers along the Central Iranian Range with a small reach into Pakistan. Despite the name, true forest is sparse: the characteristic cover is open forest-steppe of widely spaced pistachio (Pistacia) and wild almond (Amygdalus), with a thorn-cushion and dwarf-shrub understory that includes genera such as Pteropyrum and Lycium, while most of the terrain is bare or thinly vegetated. The climate is cool and arid-temperate, notably cooler and wetter than the surrounding desert of the Iranian Plateau, classed as cold semi-arid (Köppen BSk). These rugged slopes shelter wildlife that depends on relief from the desert below, including the goitered gazelle, bezoar ibex, Persian leopard, and remnant Asiatic cheetah, with Blanford's fox as the flagship species. Conservation pressure is high from overgrazing and the conversion of steep slopes to cultivation, and less than two percent of the ecoregion is officially protected. For gardeners in dry, cold-winter climates, the native pistachio and almond relatives point to drought-hardy, deep-rooted woody plants suited to similar conditions.

At a glance

About the montane grasslands & shrublands biome

High-elevation grasslands, meadows, and shrublands above the treeline or in mountain basins, including alpine and páramo systems. Cool temperatures, intense sunlight, and specialized, often endemic flora characterize them.

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