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MAQUIS ; CHAPARRAL , ETC . 
The vegetation of this zone is chiefly xerophytic. Coni- 
ferae with needle leaves appear in large numbers in the 
forests; most of the trees and shrubs are evergreen with 
branched stems, but there are a number of deciduous forms 
which are leafless in the dry season. The habit of many of 
the trees is like that of the Mediterranean stone pine ( Pinus 
pinea), which forms a kind of umbrella with almost flat top. 
Epiphytic ferns occur in the wetter regions. 
Copse-associations are common, e.g. the ‘maquis’ or 
4 macchie ’ of the Mediterranean coasts, which are composed 
of many shrubby forms, especially Leguminosae, Cistaceae, 
Spartium juncewn , Myrtus communis , Erica arborea , Pistacia 
lentiscus , Quercus Ilex , Arbutus Unedo , &c., among which 
in the rainy weather great numbers of herbaceous forms, 
including many annuals, are to be found. Another is the 
4 chaparral ’ of California and the south-west United States, 
the chief shrubs in which are Adenostoma fasciculatum 
(chamise), Arctostaphylos sp. (manzanita), Quercus dumosa , 
and others, among which grows a scanty herbage of grasses, 
&c. A third association of this sort is the Larrea scrub of 
Mexico, which is still more xerophytic. Others of marked 
xerophytic type are the Yuccas of Texas, &c., and the 
larger Cacti of the Arizona deserts. 
Large areas are occupied by grass-associations (steppes 
and prairies), e.g, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mts., 
where Bouteloua and other grasses predominate. These 
regions are usually much parched in summer. They pass 
over into drier desert regions, eg. the cactus regions of 
Arizona and New Mexico. There are also many salt 
steppes and deserts occupied by halophytes, e.g. the genera 
Haloxylon, Halimondendron, Anabasis, &c., in Asia, and 
the sage-brush of the western United States ( Artemisia 
trident at a and other species). 
The coast flora is often shrubby, e.g. on the flatter shores 
of the Mediterranean. The shrubs are generally low 
growing and much branched, with xerophytic charac- 
ters. 
An outlying flora, similar to that of the wetter parts of 
this zone in habit, ecology, and other characters, occurs in 
the higher regions of many tropical mountains, e.g. in the 
Himalayan foot-hills, and in Ceylon and Java. 
