Chilean Matorral - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is home to several plant communities.

• Coastal Matorral is a low, soft scrubland which extends from La Serena in the north to Valparaiso in the south. Typical species are the coastal daisy (Bahia ambrosioides), Palhuén (Adesmia microphylla), and Palo de Yagua, the wild coastal fuchsia (Fuchsia lycioides). The coastal matorral is similar to the garrigue of the Mediterranean Basin and the coastal sage scrub of southern California.
• Matorral is a shrubland plant community, composed of sclerophyll ("hard-leaved") shrubs and small trees, cactus, and bromeliads. Typical species include Litre (Lithraea venenosa), Quillay or Soapbark Tree (Quillaja saponaria), cactus (Echinopsis chiloensis), and bromeliads of genus Puya, with a diverse understory of herbs, vines, and geophytes. The matorral is similar to the chaparral of California and the maquis of the Mediterranean Basin.
• Espinal is a savanna plant community, composed of widely-spaced clumps of trees, predominantly Espino (Acacia caven) and spiny carob tree (Prosopis chilensis), with an understory of annual grasses introduced from the Mediterranean Basin in the 16th century. Much of the espinal was formerly matorral, degraded over the centuries by intensive grazing of sheep, goats, and cattle.
• Sclerophyll woodlands and forests were once more extensive, but now exist in small patches in the coast ranges and Andean foothills. The sclerophyll forests and woodlands are composed predominantly of evergreen sclerophyll trees, including Peumo (Cryptocarya alba), Boldo (Peumus boldus), Mayten (Maytenus boaria), and Chilean Wine Palm (Jubaea chilensis).

The ecoregion has many endemic plant species, with affinities to the South American tropics, the Antarctic flora, and the Andes. About 95% of the plant species are endemic to Chile, including Gomortega keule, Pitavia punctata, Nothofagus alessandrii, and the Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis.