The São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón forests cover three volcanic islands in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa, spanning the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe along with Annobón, which belongs to Equatorial Guinea. Vegetation is layered by elevation, grading from lowland forest near sea level into montane and cloud or mossy forest on the highest, wettest slopes, with drier forest in the leeward rain shadow; characteristic trees include Olea capensis, Syzygium guineense, and endemics such as Afrocarpus mannii. The climate is wet and tropical with little seasonal variation, consistently high humidity, and mean annual temperatures roughly between 18 and 33 degrees Celsius. Endemism is exceptional for the islands' small size, with dozens of endemic plants on each island and a flagship bird, the giant sunbird; the ecoregion is classed as Vulnerable, with protected areas including Obo Natural Park and the Annobón Natural Reserve. Gardeners may recognize endemic genera among the native flora, including the giant tree begonias of the genus Begonia and the showy Calvoa.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 0.2°N, 6.6°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: +3.2°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
Afrotropic
Approximate area
400 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
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: