[5] Middle-elevation forests on the volcanic plateau are dominated by podocarps, including rimu, miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea), mataī, tōtara (Podocarpus totara) and kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides).

Middle elevation forests on Mount Taranaki include Hall's totara (Podocarpus laetus) and kaikawaka (Libocedrus bidwillii).

[5] Higher-elevation plant communities include southern beech (Nothofagus) forests and tussock grasslands.

Shrublands of leatherwoods, including Olearia colensoi and Brachyglottis rotundifolia are common at the treeline, with tough leaves that resist water loss from the mountain winds.

[5] The ecoregion is home to several threatened native species, including the North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata), and North Island kōkako (Callaeas wilsoni).

Introduced goats and Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) heavily browse the lowland forests, and possums have decimated kamahi and rata in lowland forests and kaikawaka and Hall’s totara in the southern ranges.