The Malabar Coast moist forests form a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion running along southwestern India, occupying a narrow coastal strip between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats from Maharashtra through Goa, Karnataka and Kerala to southern Tamil Nadu. Its original tropical evergreen rainforest has been largely replaced by semi-deciduous vegetation and plantations, but characteristic canopy trees include Tetrameles, Dysoxylum, Ficus, Pterocarpus, Terminalia, Dalbergia, Madhuca and wild mango (Mangifera), alongside distinctive Myristica swamp forests in the lowlands. The climate is shaped by the southwest monsoon, which delivers heavy orographic rainfall, generally exceeding 2,500 mm a year and increasing toward the south. The Malabar pied hornbill serves as the ecoregion's flagship species, and the forests support an estimated 280 bird species and the endemic Kerala rat, though most of the original habitat has been cleared and little intact forest remains. For gardeners, several native genera here, such as Ficus and Pterocarpus, are familiar ornamental and shade trees.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 9.5°N, 76.6°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: +3.4°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
Indomalayan
Approximate area
13,716 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
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 moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: