The Yucatán moist forests blanket the broad limestone lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula, spanning southeastern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and small adjacent parts of Belize. Vegetation is dominated by high and medium semi-evergreen tropical forest, where sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is the most abundant tree alongside breadnut (Brosimum alicastrum), bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), and Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata); about half the trees drop their leaves in the dry season. The climate is tropical and humid, with average annual rainfall ranging from roughly 1,000 to 1,500 mm and the rainiest months in September and October, though porous limestone leaves the region with few permanent rivers despite the moisture. It shelters a rich fauna, including the Central American tapir, jaguar, and the Yucatán (Guatemalan) black howler monkey, the ecoregion's flagship species, with protected reserves such as Calakmul and Sian Ka'an safeguarding part of the forest. For gardeners, the native canopy includes useful, ornamentally striking trees like Swietenia macrophylla and Cedrela odorata that thrive in these warm, seasonally wet conditions.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 19.2°N, 89.1°W.
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: +3.3°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
Neotropic
Approximate area
26,906 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: