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Maquis (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
) or macchia (Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
: macchia Mediterranea) is a shrubland biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
 in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s such as sage
Salvia

Salvia is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is one of three genus commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it can be used with modifiers to refer to any member of the genus....
, juniper
Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America....
 and myrtle
Myrtle

The Myrtle is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and north Africa. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing to 5 m tall....
. It is most often associated with Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
 but is widely found on the mainland as well, especially in southern France and coastal Italy.

It is similar to the English heath
Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a Chamaephyte habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often Dominance by plants of the Ericaceae....
 in many aspects, but with taller shrubs, typically 2-4 m high as opposed to 0.2-1 m for heath.






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Maquis (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
) or macchia (Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
: macchia Mediterranea) is a shrubland biome
Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
 in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s such as sage
Salvia

Salvia is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is one of three genus commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it can be used with modifiers to refer to any member of the genus....
, juniper
Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America....
 and myrtle
Myrtle

The Myrtle is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and north Africa. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing to 5 m tall....
. It is most often associated with Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
 but is widely found on the mainland as well, especially in southern France and coastal Italy.

It is similar to the English heath
Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a Chamaephyte habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often Dominance by plants of the Ericaceae....
 in many aspects, but with taller shrubs, typically 2-4 m high as opposed to 0.2-1 m for heath. A similar habitat type in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 is known as chaparral
Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or Heath plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of Lower California, Mexico....
, though the kinds of shrubs involved are different.

Although maquis is by definition natural, its appearance in many places is due to destruction of forest cover, mainly by frequent burning
Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled, non-structure fire that occurs in the wilderness, wildland, or The Bush. Synonyms such as wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat#Fires, bushfire , and hill fire are commonly used....
 that prevents young trees from maturing. It tends otherwise to grow in arid, rocky areas where only drought-resistant plants are likely to prosper.

The word comes from the plural of Italian macchia (English "thicket"). The extremely dense nature of maquis made it ideal cover for bandits and guerrillas, who used it to shelter from the authorities. It is from this meaning that the Second World War French resistance movement, the Maquis
Maquis (World War II)

The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla warfare bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide Forced labor in Germany during World War II....
, derived its name. In Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 darsi alla macchia means "becoming a fugitive".

See also

  • Garrigue
    Garrigue

    Garrigue is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland found on limestone soils around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer Drought obtain....
    , a biome typical of southern France.