Home | E-mail | Photo gallery | Mail Sale Catalogue | Grafting Guestbook | Dictionary |  Winter test | Links | Search

 
 
Chaparral [ Ecology  ]

Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Also known with the local names of Chaparral (California); Maquis (Mediterranean), Mattoral (Chile), Mallee Scrub (Australia), Fynbos (South Africa)
     
  The chaparral  is a plant biome characteristic of the regions with Mediterranean type climates.  
     
The chaparral is a biome found in small sections of most continents located in bands between 30 and 40 degrees N and 30 and 40 degrees S of the equator. It is a shrubby coastal area that has hot dry summers at 40 °C and mild, cool, winters (usually about 10 °C.), This makes fires and droughts very common, most of the rain in this biome comes in the winter. The total annual rainfall in a chaparral ranges from 38-100 cm per year..
The word chaparral comes from "chaparro," which means scrub oak in Spanish. Chaparrals are also called Mediterranean scrub, shrublands, or scrublands. It is also called the Mediterranean Forest, Woodland, and Scrub biome. The chaparral biome has many different types of terrain. Some examples are flat plains, rocky hills and mountain slopes.
It is a community of  drought tolerant plants (xerophytes) dominated by dense shrubs  with leathery leaves or needles; the shrubs are interspersed with some woodland. Most of the plants have small, hard leaves which hold moisture. The plants are also very well adapted to fires. Plants in the chaparral often have root systems designed to get as much water as possible.

Mattoral espinoso tamaulipecoMattoral Espinoso TamaulipecoUsually the particular Mattoral from a specific area take the name of the area of origin.
For example  the Mattoral Espinoso Tamaulipense (on the photos ) is a type of vegetation existing in Tamaulipas and extending to the northern Nuevo León, Coahuila,  and southern Texas.
     

 

 

A Special Thanks to all Those Who help us to make this web site
with their photo, time, comments.

The photos in  this site are subject to copyright. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of CACTUS ART nursery and the original photographer.

Home | E-mail | Photo gallery | Mail Sale Catalogue | Grafting Guestbook | Dictionary |  Winter test | Links | Search

1