The Hispaniolan moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the island of Hispaniola. They cover , around 60% of the island's area. Geography Moist forests occur on most of the eastern half the Dominican Republic, stretching from the coast all the way to high elevations in the mountains. In Haiti, they are found in the Tiburon Peninsula in the southern part of the country as well as the Massif du Nord. The drainage basins for the island's main rivers, the Yaque del Norte and Yaque del Sur, Yuna, and Artibonite, occur in this ecoregion. The forests cover diverse topography, including flatlands, valleys, plateaus, slopes and foothills up to an altitude of about . Soils are either calcareous (neutral or somewhat alkaline) or acidic. Climate Mesic forests receive of annual rainfall, while more than falls in wet forests. The rainy season lasts from April to December. Temperature varies from in open areas near the coast and averages around in higher areas. Freezing temperatures occur in the highest zones at certain times of the year. Flora Moist forests are classified as being either lowland mesic, montane mesic, lowland wet, or montane wet. Characteristic lowland species are Haitian catalpa (Catalpa longissima), particularly in well-drained soils, and West Indian mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni). Puerto Rican royal palm (Roystonea borinquena) is common where soil is calcareous. Paradise tree (Simarouba glauca), anón de majagua (Lonchocarpus heptaphyllus), jagua (Genipa americana), black olive (Bucida buceras), West Indian lancewood (Oxandra lanceolata) and amacey (Tetragastris balsamifera) are found in small secondary stands. Isolated trees are home to fustic (Maclura tinctoria), logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum), iris (Hippeastrum puniceum), caracolí (Abarema glauca), córbano (Albizia berteriana), West Indian elm (Guazuma ulmifolia), palo de leche (Rauvolfia nitida), and spiny fiddlewood (Citharexylum spinosum). Areas where soils are superficial or savannas have formed from degraded forest are indicated by trees such as the sandpaper tree (Curatella americana), grandleaf seagrape (Coccoloba pubescens), Jamaican nettletree (Trema micrantha) and Tabebuia species. Cashews (Anacardium occidentale) are present in zones that have marginal earth and precipitation closer to that of the dry forests. Yellow olivier (Buchenavia capitata), sablito (Schefflera morototoni), maricao (Byrsonima spicata) aguacatillo (Alchornea latifolia), West Indian cherry (Prunus myrtifolia), árbol de Santa Maria (Calophyllum brasiliense), cocuyo (Hirtella triandra), American muskwood (Guarea guidonia), palo de yagua (Casearia arborea), locust (Hymenaea courbaril), balatá (Manilkara domingensis) and sierra palm (Prestoea montana) grow in mesic forests. Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis) is common