100 millimeters to as much as 3,000 millimeters. Although much of the hotspot was once covered in evergreen oak forests, deciduous and conifer forests, eight thousand years of human settlement and habitat modification have distinctly altered the characteristic vegetation. Today, the most widespread vegetation type is hard-leafed or sclerophyllus shrublands called maquis or matorral, which include representatives from the plant genera Juniperus, Myrtus, Olea, Phillyrea, Pistacia, and Quercus. This vegetation is similar in appearance to the chaparral vegetation of California and the matorral of Chile. Some important components of Mediterranean vegetation (species of the genera Arbutus, Calluna, Ceratonia, Chamaerops, and Larus) are relicts from the ancient forests that dominated the Basin two million years ago. Frequent burning of maquis results in depauperate vegetation dominated by Kermes oak ( Quercus coccifera), Cistus spp. or
europaea, maasikapuu Arbutus sp., värvitamm Quercus coccifera, iilekstamm Quercus ilex, eerikad Erica sp., jne. Süüria männi Pinus halepensis ja kreeta männi Pinus brutia metsad esinevad rannikumadalikel ja kohati kuni 800 m kõrguseni. Metsad on suhteliselt avatud ja nende alustaimestik koosneb igihaljastest liikidest nagu foiniikia kadakas Juniperus phoenicea, värvitamm Quercus coccifera, laialehine fillüüria Phillyrea latifolia, Calicotome villosa, puis-eerika Erica arborea, kanarbik E. manipuliflora. Vahemere küpress Cupressus sempervirens on pärismaine liik Kreetal (kõrgusel kuni ligikaudu 1 800 m) ja Egeuse mere idaosa saartel ning on kohandunud igal pool mujal riigis. Macchie ehk makii. Termin "macchie" ehk "makii" tähistab tihedat, vahel läbipääsmatut võsataimestikku, mis on üldjuhul 1,5-3,5 m kõrge ja kus kasvavad suures osas kõvalehised igihaljad
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