Plant communities are diverse, and include woodlands, heathlands, sedgelands, mangroves, and vine forests (including both semi-deciduous vine forests on the eastern ranges and deciduous vine thickets on western slopes). The predominant plant community is eucalypt woodlands and savannas, which cover 64% of the ecoregion's area, with Darwin stringybark (
Eucalyptus tetrodonta) as the dominant tree in 36% of the ecoregion. Open woodlands of
Melaleuca spp. cover 15% of the ecoregion. The Iron and McIlwraith Ranges are home to the most extensive rainforests and vine forests in the ecoregion, which grow on older metamorphic rocks on the eastern side of the escarpment. These forests have floristic affinities to
New Guinea. Heathland of low-growing plants is common on nutrient-poor sandy soils formed from eroded granite, including large areas of the Iron and McIlwraith ranges. Most of the ecoregion's watersheds are relatively intact, home to freshwater aquatic species and often lined with dense riparian forests.
Mangrove forests are found in the north east and along the estuaries on the coasts. 36 mangrove species are recorded on the peninsula. 40% of the ecoregion's plant species are shared with
New Guinea. There are also 330 bioregionally endemic plant species and five bioregionally endemic plant genera, including
Wodyetia, Jedda, and
Indagator. ==Fauna==