Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild, wet winters and hot dry summers) and wildfire. Similar plant communities are found in the four other Mediterranean climate regions around the world, including the Mediterranean Basin (where it is known as maquis), central Chile (where it is called matorral), South African Cape Region (known there as fynbos), and in Western and Southern Australia.

The word chaparral is a loan word from Spanish. The Spanish word comes from the word chaparro, which means both small and dwarf evergreen oak, which itself comes from the Basque word txapar, with the same meaning.

A typical chaparral plant community consists of densely-growing evergreen scrub oaks and other drought-resistant shrubs. It often grows so densely that it is all but impenetrable to large animals and humans. This, and its generally arid condition, makes it notoriously prone to wildfires. Although many chaparral plant species require some fire cue (heat, smoke, or charred wood) for germination, chaparral plants are not "adapted" to fire per se. Rather, these species are adapted to particular fire regimes involving season, frequency, intensity and severity of the burn.

Plant Species

In Central and Southern California chaparral forms a dominant habitat. Members of the chaparral biota native to California, all of which tend to regrow quickly after fires, include:

• Black sage (Salvia mellifera)
• Bush monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus)
• Bush rue (Cneoridium dumosum)
• Ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.)
• Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum)
• Chaparral Pea (Pickeringia montana)
• California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
• California Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica)
• Deerweed (Lotus scoparius)
• Islay or Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia)
• Laurel sumac (Malosma laurina)
• Lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia)
• Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.)
• Mission manzanita (Xylococcus bicolor)
• Mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus spp.)
• Redshanks (Adenostoma sparsifolium)
• Scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia, Q. dumosa, Q. wislizenii var. frutescens)
• Silk-tassel bush (Garrya spp.)
• Sugar bush (Rhus ovata)
• Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
• Wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus)
• Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei)

Bird Species