A Comparison of Two Types of Mediterranean Scrub in Israel and California1

Assistant Professor of Botany, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel; and Professor, Department of Botany, University of California, Davis, California. Abstract: Matorral/chaparral and phrygana/ coastal sage vegetation types of Israel and California exhibit major differences in life form spectra, physiognomy, species richness, fire adaptations, spinescence, and leaf traits. In some cases it is possible to correlate such differences in climate, geologic history, soil, fire frequency, and human history. There seems to be only a superficial degree of convergence between comparable mediterranean types of vegetation in the two areas.