The Leeward Islands moist forests cover the rugged volcanic uplands of the northern Lesser Antilles, spanning about 85 percent of Guadeloupe's Basse-Terre along with the mountainous interiors of Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, southern Antigua, and the western U.S. and British Virgin Islands. These moist tropical forests are dominated by Miconia and Clusia, with the gommier tree (Dacryodes excelsa) common in less-disturbed stands and palms taking over above roughly 600 meters. The islands sit squarely in the trade-winds belt and the main Atlantic hurricane track, giving a tropical climate that ranges from rainforest to monsoon to dry-winter savanna depending on each island's relief, with the wetter inner volcanic arc receiving the heaviest rainfall. Like most island chains it holds many endemics, including ten bat species on Guadeloupe and the endangered Guadeloupe raccoon, with much of the forest protected within reserves such as Guadeloupe National Park and the Virgin Islands National Park. For gardeners in suitable climates, the native mountain cabbage palm (Prestoea acuminata var. montana) is a notable ornamental species of these highland forests.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.2°N, 61.7°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.6°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
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
382 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
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
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
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 moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: