The Mascarene forests cover three volcanic islands in the western Indian Ocean east of Madagascar: Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues, which are divided politically between Mauritius and France. Their original vegetation ranged from leeward dry lowland forest and palm-rich woodland up through lowland rainforest to montane evergreen and cloud forest, with heathland on Réunion's highest peaks; characteristic native genera include the ebonies (Diospyros), screw pines (Pandanus), and a distinctive set of endemic palms such as Latania, Hyophorbe, Dictyosperma, and Acanthophoenix. The climate is tropical, with warm-season temperatures near the coast averaging around 27 to 30 degrees Celsius and cooler season temperatures of roughly 22 to 25, while rainfall climbs steeply with elevation and the islands are struck by intense cyclones. The flora is exceptionally rich for its size, with roughly 955 species of which about 695 are endemic, yet these islands have suffered some of the highest human-caused extinction rates on Earth, exemplified by the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire, and most original forest has been cleared, with Réunion retaining the largest intact area. For gardeners, the region is the natural home of several prized ornamental palms, including the bottle palm and other Hyophorbe, the Latania fan palms, and the princess palm Dictyosperma album.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 21.1°S, 55.6°E.
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: +2.2°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 7 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
1,909 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
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: