The Lord Howe Island subtropical forests ecoregion covers Lord Howe Island, a small remote volcanic island in the Tasman Sea east of New South Wales, Australia, within the Australasian realm. Its vegetation grades from subtropical coastal lowland rainforest up to misty montane cloud forest on the island's tall southern peaks, with endemic palms forming the signature flora alongside trees such as Blackbutt. The climate is humid subtropical, with warm to hot summers, erratic rainfall, and mild winters. Botanically the island is notable for its high endemism, including five endemic plant genera, Negria, Lordhowea, Howea, Lepidorrhachis, and Hedyscepe, and the whole island group is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For gardeners, the island is the native home of the Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana), exported since the 1880s and now one of the world's most popular ornamental and indoor palms, along with related palms such as the big mountain palm (Hedyscepe canterburyana).
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 31.6°S, 159.1°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13a
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13a
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.8°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
Australasia
Approximate area
6 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
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: