Definitions for "Matorral"
An about 100 km wide strip of Mediterranean-like scrub along the coastal mountains of Chile, it is characterized by evergreen shrubs 1-3 meters in height and herbs. It more diverse than the chaparral of southern California. Matorral habitats also occur in central Mexico and other areas with Mediterranean-like scrubland.
Chile's 'mirror image' vegetation to California's chaparral, differing in being less dense than the northern hemisphere counterpart or the Mediterranean maquis. Similar to chaparral, it extends from coastal areas to the Andean foothills. Another distinction is the abundance of vines, bulbs, and herbaceous plants. Also compare to the South African fynbos and the Western Australian kwongan. Also the term used in Spain to describe maquis vegitation.
Matorral is a Spanish word for shrubland, thicket or bushes. Matorral originally referred to the Matorral shrublands of Spain's Mediterranean climate regions, but the term followed Spanish settlement of the Americas, and is used to refer to both Mediterranean-climate and xeric shrublands in Mexico, Chile, and elsewhere. Mediterranean shrublands are often part of a mosaic landscape, interspersed with forests, woodlands, grassland, and scrublands.