Cuban pine forests

The Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion spanning the northern Bahamas, on Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, and New Providence, together with the Caicos Islands of the Turks and Caicos. The canopy is dominated by the Bahamian pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis), a variety botanically distinct from other Caribbean pines and adapted to sandy, salty ground, growing over a broad-leaved shrub understory that includes poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), thatch palms, and the endemic five-finger. These are fire-maintained, pyrogenic forests; pollen records indicate a largely anthropogenic origin, with the modern pineyards established by about 1200 CE following Lucayan land clearing. The ecoregion carries a Critical/Endangered status and shelters notable wildlife, including endemic birds such as the Bahama yellowthroat, Bahama woodstar, and Bahama oriole, rock iguanas (Cyclura) and boas (Epicrates), and the wintering Kirtland's warbler, while logging, invasive species, and intensifying hurricanes such as Dorian remain serious threats. For gardeners, the understory native pinepink orchid (Bletia purpurea) is among the ornamental plants found here.

The Central American pine-oak forests stretch along the mountainous spine of northern Central America, from the Chiapas highlands and Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Mexico through the uplands of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras into Nicaragua. As the name suggests, these montane woodlands are dominated by pines (Pinus species) and oaks (Quercus species), with pines tending to prevail at higher elevations and oaks lower down, alongside trees such as American sweetgum. They occupy a mid-elevation band roughly between 600 and 1,800 meters, giving way to cloud forest higher up and grading into tropical moist forest on the Caribbean slope and tropical dry forest on the Pacific slope. The region is an Endemic Bird Area and the celebrated home of the resplendent quetzal, though much of its forest is now considered critically threatened, with the stands in El Salvador almost entirely cleared. For gardeners, it is the native ground of American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), a popular ornamental shade tree prized for its fall color.

The Hispaniolan pine forests cover the high mountains of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, spanning both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where they extend from the Cordillera Central into Haiti's Massif du Nord at elevations above roughly 800 meters. The forests are dominated by pino criollo (Pinus occidentalis), the island's only native pine, growing alongside other conifers such as the juniper Juniperus gracilior and Podocarpus aristulatus, with broad-leaved understory shrubs at lower elevations. The climate is comparatively cool and seasonal for the tropics, with annual rainfall generally between 1,000 and 2,000 millimeters and a distinct wet season, and temperatures in the higher reaches can fall below freezing. The ecoregion is rated Critical/Endangered: more than half of its original area has been cleared for agriculture, pasture, and plantations, with the Haitian portion far more deforested than the Dominican side. It shelters many endemic animals, including the Hispaniolan crossbill, white-winged warbler, and golden swallow. Gardeners may recognize native genera here such as Juniperus, Vaccinium, and Buddleja.

The Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests crown the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, within Los Cabos and eastern La Paz municipalities of Baja California Sur. Found above roughly 800 meters and ringed at lower elevations by dry forest and desert, they form the only temperate forests in the state, dominated by oaks (Quercus, including the endemic Q. devia) and pines (notably the endemic Pinus lagunae), alongside the Peninsular madrone (Arbutus peninsularis). Their elevation gives a subtropical to temperate climate that is markedly wetter than the surrounding lowlands, with rain concentrated in summer. This island of forest is a center of endemism, holding around 694 plant species of which roughly 85 occur nowhere else, and part of the range was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve. For gardeners, the native Arbutus and Quercus offer cues to genera suited to mild, summer-rain mountain climates.

The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests cover the rugged Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountains of southern Mexico, lying mostly within Oaxaca state and extending north into Puebla and Veracruz, with terrain reaching 3,400 metres at the peak of Zempoaltepetl. A mosaic of pine and oak woodland dominates, built largely on Pinus and Quercus (including netleaf oak), grading into humid cloud forests rich in bromeliads, orchids, and ferns. The climate is temperate and humid, with the range intercepting moist air carried west from the Gulf of Mexico; yearly temperatures and rainfall range roughly from 16 to 20 degrees Celsius and 700 to 4,000 millimetres. These forests are exceptionally biodiverse, holding nearly 40 percent of Mesoamerica's endemic vertebrates and ranking among the last remaining habitats for jaguar and puma in Mexico, with much of the land stewarded by Indigenous communities. For gardeners, the region is also home to native orchids of the genus Rhynchostele.

The Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests blanket the mountain ranges of southern Mexico that run parallel to the Pacific coast, spanning the states of Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. As the name suggests, the forests are built around oaks (Quercus) and pines (Pinus), with characteristic species including Quercus magnoliifolia, Q. castanea, Pinus pseudostrobus, and Pinus herrerae, while firs (Abies) take over at the highest elevations and humid cloud forests gather on mid-slopes. Conditions are temperate to subhumid, with rainfall in the range of about 800 to 1,600 mm a year across an elevation span reaching from roughly 100 to 3,500 meters. The region is an exceptional center of endemism: it holds some 595 plant species with seven endemic genera and 160 native birds, 28 of them found nowhere else, and its flagship animal is the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit. For gardeners, the ecoregion is also home to ornamental natives such as the Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) and several endemic magnolias.