The Southwest Arabian Highland Xeric Scrub spans the high plateaus of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, covering part of the Asir Mountains of Saudi Arabia and most of the western highlands of Yemen along the Sarawat range. Its vegetation grades with elevation, from evergreen woodland of wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) on lower slopes up to Juniperus procera woodland and dwarf-shrub communities holding Rosa abyssinica, Senecio, Helichrysum, aloes, and Euphorbia on the highest, drier ground. The climate is shaped by a variable southwestern monsoon delivering roughly 100 to 500 millimeters of rain a year, with mild summers, cool winters, and occasional frost or snow at the upper elevations. The ecoregion lies within the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot and is noted for high reptile endemism and the threatened Arabian leopard, though protection is minimal and overgrazing, firewood cutting, and water shortage press on it. For gardeners, native ornamentals here include the wild Abyssinian rose (Rosa abyssinica) and several aloes adapted to dry, high-elevation conditions.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 14.2°N, 44.7°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.5°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
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
12,602 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
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 · 52
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 deserts & xeric shrublands ecoregions to explore: