The Queensland tropical rain forests ecoregion runs along the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, within the Australasian realm, in three separate sections: a large northern block around Cairns plus smaller patches near Mackay and Shoalwater Bay, climbing from the coastal plain up to adjacent ranges. Much of it is closed forest of broadleaf evergreens, with characteristic Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae conifers such as Agathis (kauri), Araucaria, and Podocarpus, and dense understories tangled with vines, lianas, ferns, epiphytes, and palms. The climate is tropical and very wet, with a pronounced rainy season from November to April. These are among the oldest rainforests on Earth and preserve the world's best living record of land-plant evolution, including relict lineages from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and ancient flowering-plant families such as Austrobaileyaceae and Idiospermaceae. The flagship southern cassowary is an important disperser of rainforest seeds, helping sustain the forest's exceptional plant diversity.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 17.6°S, 145.7°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.5°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
13,379 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: