These consist of open woodland with thorny trees with short trunks and low, branching crowns; spiny and xerophytic shrubs; and dry grassland.

The remaining natural habitat is threatened by overgrazing and invasive weeds, but there are a number of small protected areas which provide a haven for the wildlife.

This ecoregion covers the semi-arid portions of the Deccan Plateau, extending across the Indian states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

Typical grasses of the ecoregion include Chrysopogon fulvus, Heteropogon contortus, Eremopogon foveolatus, Aristida setacea, and Dactyloctenium species.

[1] The remaining patches of forest are also home to a large number of plants, some of medicinal and botanical interest, including an endemic cycad (Cycas beddomei) and Psilotum nudum.

[1] Finally, the area between the Nallamala and Seshachalam Hills is well known for the red sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), a rare, endemic tree species that is harvested for the medicinal value of its wood.

The grasslands of southern Andhra Pradesh support a good population of the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), although these and other species are declining in number.

Other threatened mammal species found in these forests include the tiger, gaur (Bos gaurus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra).

[1] The Deccan thorn scrub forests are home to a richer variety of birds: almost 350 species, of which three are considered near-endemic: Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus), Sri Lanka junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii), and yellow-fronted barbet (Megalaima flavifrons).