MEDITERRANEAN VEGETATION

any scrubby, dense vegetation composed of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, bushes, and small trees usually less than 2.5 m (about 8 feet) tall and growing in regions lying between 30 and 40 north and south latitudes. These regions have a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean area, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Around the Mediterranean Sea this vegetation is called macchie, maquis, or garigue; it is known as chaparral in southwestern North America, as Cape flora in southern Africa, and as mallee in southwestern Australia. See also chaparral; maquis; mallee.