The area has been categorised as the Fiordland temperate forests ecoregion, having a variety of habitats and due to its isolation a high number of endemic plants. Much of Fiordland is heavily forested except for locations where surface rock exposures are extensive. The natural habitats are almost completely unspoilt. Nothofagus beech trees are dominant in many locations, silver beech "(Nothofagus menziesii)" in the fiords and red beech "(Nothofagus fusca)" in the inland valleys. In the understory there are a wide variety of shrubs and ferns, including crown fern ("Blechnum discolor"), areas of scrubby herbs above the treeline, patches of bog next to mountain streams and finally an area of rimu "(Dacrydium cupressinum)"-dominated sand dunes in the Waitutu area on the south coast. Despite a latitude in the mid 40s, the treeline is generally below because of the cool summers and the influence of the southern ocean on the climate.