'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.
In
Portugal, the term '''mato''' is used to refer to the
scrublands, or heaths, that formed on the
Cambrian and
Silurian schists in the north and central parts of Portugal. The term was imported to the
New World, where it was used to refer to the great scrublands,
Mato Grosso, of western
Brazil.
See also
★
Chilean Matorral
★
Central Mexican matorral
★
Meseta Central matorral
★
Tamaulipan matorral
★
Tehuacán Valley matorral