chaparral
shap-ah-RAL
Dense, drought-adapted, fire-dependent shrubland characteristic of Southern California and the coastal mountain ranges — a tough, aromatic tangle of chamise, manzanita, ceanothus, and scrub oak that grows chest- to head-high, burns hot and fast, and regenerates from the roots. Chaparral defines the smell, the feel, and the fire regime of the California hills.
Etymology
Spanish chaparro, a dwarf evergreen oak, possibly from Basque txapar. The suffix -al makes it a place of chaparros — oak scrub country.
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