• Mediterranean Summer
• The Mediterranean
• Vegetation

The Mediterranean - Vegetation

Although the climate is very similar in the five Mediterranean regions of the world, each has a unique collection of plants, many of which are endemic to the area (ie they grow nowhere else in the world).

Each region has also come to be associated with excellent fruits, fine wines and good crops due to the amenable climate.

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub habitats are typical of Mediterranean climate zones. Particularly distinctive of the climate are sclerophyll shrublands, which are known as maquis in the Mediterranean Basin, chaparral in California, matorral in Chile, fynbos in South Africa, and mallee and kwongan shrublands in Australia. Eucalyptus forests cover most of the mallee habitat in Australia.

Mediterranean climate plants have adapted to the differences in rainfall and temperature between winter and summer seasons in a variety of ways including:

• Annuals - growing when there is plenty of rain and flowering in spring, producing plenty of seed to come back next year.
• Bulbs - retreating underground when it becomes too hot and dry.
• Summer deciduous - dropping leaves in summer reducing the risk of desiccation.
• Essential oils - preventing water loss in leaves.
• Fire adaptations - being able to re-grow from below ground, having spongy bark that prevents true scorching, or having seeds that are stimulated to grow by fire or smoke.
• Leaf adaptations - many plants have leaves that are adapted to the hot, dry summers - grey, hairy, small or needle-like leaves all prevent scorching and water loss, while some plants also have succulent leaves and stems to hoard water during dry months.
• Deep taproots - many plants have fine roots on the soil surface to soak up light rains and a deep taproot to search for water underground.

Be sure to check out our collection of plant profiles which provide a wealth of information about a selection of plants associated with the Mediterranean.