n.
Pronunciation: ˌ sha-p ə - ' ral, - ' rel
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish, from chaparro dwarf evergreen oak, from Basque txapar
Date: 1845
1 : a thicket of dwarf evergreen oaks broadly : a dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs or dwarf trees
2 : an ecological community composed of shrubby plants adapted to dry summers and moist winters that occurs especially in southern California