The plant communities in the ecoregion include coastal scrub, lowland rain forests, and montane rain forests. The lowland rain forests are composed of four strata, including a dense canopy layer and emergent trees which grow up to 30 meters high. Common canopy and emergent trees include species from the plant families
Leguminosae (
Copaifera trapezifolia),
Sapotaceae (species of
Pouteria and
Chrysophyllum), and
Lauraceae. Tropical montane cloud forests occur from 1,200 to 1,500 meters elevation in the northern portion of the ecoregion, and 700 to 1100 meters in the south. They are found on seaward-facing mountain slopes with high rainfall and frequent year-round cloud cover. Tropical montane cloud forests are dense forests, characterized by small trees and shrubs and abundant and diverse
epiphytes. Species of
Myrtaceae are the predominant canopy trees, including
Siphoneugena reitzii, Myrceugenia euosma, Myrceugenia bracteosa, other
Myrceugenia species,
Myrcia hartwegiana, and
Myrcia palustris. Canopy trees typically have tortuous trunks, rigid branches, rounded crowns, and small glossy (glabrous) or coriaceous leaves.
Drimys brasiliensis and species of
Lauraceae and
Melastomataceae are also common, and
Mimosa scabrella, Clethra scabra, Tibouchina sellowiana, Lamanonia sp.,
Ilex taubertiana, and
Ilex microdonta are less common. Epiphytes are diverse and abundant in the cloud forests, and include
bromeliads,
orchids,
ferns,
mosses,
liverworts, and
lichens. ==Fauna==