Garrigue: Difference between revisions

{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=March 2010}}

[[Image:Garrigue 2007-09-20.JPG|thumb|250px|Garigue,Garrigue in [[France]].]]

'''GarigueGarrigue''' or '''garigue''' ({{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|r|iː|ɡ}} {{respell|gə|REEG}}), also known as '''phrygana''' ({{lang-el|φρύγανα}} {{IPA-el|ˈfriɣana|}}, [[neuter gender|n.]] [[plural|pl.]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/conspectusflora06halgoog/conspectusflora06halgoog_djvu.txt|title = Conspectus florae graecae|year = 1901}}</ref> is a type of low, soft-leaved [[scrubland]] [[ecoregion]] and [[plant community]] in the [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] [[biome]].

It is found on [[limestone]] soils in [[southern France]] and around the [[Mediterranean Basin]], generally near the seacoast where the moderated [[Mediterranean climate]] provides annual summer [[drought]]. It is an anthropogenic [[Forest degradation|degradation]] and [[Ecological succession|succession]] form of former [[evergreen]] oak forests that existed until around 2500 years BC.<ref>{{cite web

| title = Garrigues en pays languedocien
| language = Frenchfr

| year = 2007
| accessdateaccess-date = 9 March 2010

| accessdateaccess-date = 9 March 2010

The term has also found its way into [[haute cuisine]], suggestive of the resinous flavours of a gariguegarrigue [[shrubland]].<ref>[http://www.saultenprovence.com/GB/ProduitsDetail.asp?IdProduit=34 Bienvenue sur le site officiel de l'office de tourisme de la région de Sault<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021002854/http://www.saultenprovence.com/GB/ProduitsDetail.asp?IdProduit=34 |date=2006-10-21 }}</ref>

[[File:Garrigue herault.jpg|thumb|250px|GarigueGarrigue in [[Languedoc]], [[Occitania (administrative region)|Occitanie]].]]

[[Image:Cistus-and-Senecio.JPG|thumb|250px|''[[Cistus]]'' and ''[[Senecio]]'' are characteristic plants of the gariguegarrigue.]]

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre described gariguegarrigue as "discontinuous bushy associations of the Mediterranean [[calcareous]] [[plateau]]s, which have relatively [[alkaline soil]]s. It is often composed of [[kermes oak]], [[lavender]], [[thyme]], and white [[cistus]]. There may be a few isolated trees."<ref>[http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/eu_gap/Technical%20Report.pdf UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, "European Forests and Protected Areas: Gap Analysis", 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124258/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/eu_gap/Technical%20Report.pdf |date=2007-09-29 }} (pdf file)</ref><ref>Renault, J.-M. (2000): La Garrigue - grandeur nature. - Barcelona: Les créations du Pélican.</ref><ref>Hubert Delobette, Alice Dorques, ''Trésors retrouvés de la garrigue'', Le Papillon Rouge Éditeur, 2003 {{ISBN|2-9520261-0-6}}</ref>

GarigueGarrigue is discontinuous with widely spaced bush associations with open spaces, and is often extensive. It is associated with limestone and base rich soils, and calcium associated plants.

Aside from dense thickets of kermes oak that punctuate the gariguegarrigue landscape, [[juniper]] and stunted [[Quercus ilex|holly oak]]s and [[Quercus rotundifolia|holm oak]]s are the typical trees; aromatic lime-tolerant shrubs such as [[lavender]], [[Salvia officinalis|sage]], [[rosemary]], [[wild thyme]] and ''[[Artemisia (plant)|Artemisia]]'' are common gariguegarrigue plants.

The aromatic oils and soluble [[monoterpene]]s of such herbs leached into gariguegarrigue soils from [[leaf litter]] have been connected with plant [[allelopathy]], which asserts the dominance of a plant over its neighbors, especially [[annual (plant)|annuals]], and contributes to the characteristic open spacing and restricted [[flora]] in a gariguegarrigue.<ref>John D. Thompson, ''Plant Evolution in the Mediterranean'' (2005:148ff).</ref> The fines (charred wood and smoke residues, or [[charcoal]] dust) of periodic brush fires also have had an effect on the patterning and composition of the gariguesgarrigues. Clear summer skies and intense [[solar radiation]] have induced the evolution of protective physiologies: the familiar glaucous, grayish-green of gariguegarrigue landscapes is produced by the protective white hairs and light-diffusing, pebbled surfaces of many leaves typical of gariguegarrigue plants.

''garigueGarrigue'' is a common general word for the shrubland [[habitat]] [[ecosystem]]s in southern France along with [[Maquis shrubland|maquis]], which are known elsewhere in the [[Mediterranean region]] as [[matorral]] and ''tomillarestomillar'' in Spain, [[macchia]] in Italy, ''phrygana'' in Greece, ''garig'' in Croatia, and ''batha'' in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] or ''horesh'' in [[Israel]].

In [[California chaparral and woodlands|California]] a similar Mediterranean climate [[ecoregion]] is named [[chaparral]]; in [[Chile]] it is named the [[Chilean Matorral|Chilean matorral]]; in [[South Africa]] it is named [[fynbos]]; and in [[Western Australia|Australia]] it is named [[Esperance Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands|mallee]]. All are in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

Both gariguegarrigue and maquis are associated with the [[Mediterranean climate]] within the [[Mediterranean region]]. However, the distinction is not clear and term use is inconsistent.

[[Maquis shrubland]] is broadly similar to gariguegarrigue, but the vegetation is more densedenser, being composed of numerous closely spaced shrubs. Maquis is associated with siliceous (acid) soils, unlike the relatively alkaline [[calcareous]] soils of the gariguegarrigue. Its plant communities are often suites associated with [[Quercus rotundifolia|holm oak]]. [[Calcifuges]] such as ''[[Erica (plant)|Erica]]'' and ''[[Calluna]]'' are present in the maquis [[ecoregion]].

[[Deforestation]] of the indigenous oak forest since the [[Late Bronze Age]], for cultivation of [[olive]]s, [[viticulture|vines]] and grain, the introduction of sheep and especially goats and charcoal-making for heat and iron-working, exposed the land surface to weathering and resulted in [[erosion]] of the topsoil.<ref>Braudel, Fernand. ''The Mediterranean in the Age of Philip II''</ref> The wild gariguegarrigue, then, is a man-formed landscape. The intensity of grazing pressure has had a direct response in the [[ecotope]], reflected today in the decline of goat-pasturing.<ref>Z. Henkin ''et al.'', "Suitability of Mediterranean oak woodland for beef herd husbandry" ''Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment'' '''109'''.3/4, (September 2005:255-261).</ref>

First cited in the [[French language|French]] in 1546, the singular word ''gariguegarrigue'' is borrowed from the [[Provençal dialect of Occitan|Provençal]] ''garriga,'' equivalent to [[oldOld French]] ''jarrie.''. Etymologist Oscar Bloch states thatThe itterm is most likely related to the[[Gascon dialect|Gascon]] ''{{lang|oc|carroc,''}} meaning ''"rock''" and to the[[Swiss German|Germanic Swiss]] ''Karren,'', a kind of [[sedimentary rock]]. These related words could stemderive from a supposed source such as ''*carra,'' or ''"rock,''" which could beperhaps a remnant of a pre-LatinRoman language, to judge from its geographic distribution even before Celtic times, and possibly akin to [[Basque language|Basque]] ''*karr-'', ''harri'', '"rock'."<ref>Bloch, Oscar, ''Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française,'' p. 275.</ref> It is thought that Gallic[[Gaulish]] and then [[Latin]] incorporatedappear theseto wordshave andborrowed then''*carra'', transmittedwhich themevolved ininto variousits formsmodern todescendants thein [[Romance languages]].<ref>Bloch, Oscar: "Garrigue," page 270, ''Dictionnaire Etymologique,'' Paris, 1950</ref>

The dense, thrifty growth of gariguegarrigue flora has recommended many of its shrubs and [[Subshrub|sub-shrubs]] for uses as [[ornamental plant]]s in traditional and [[xeriscape|drought tolerant garden]]s. Many shrubs and flowering perennials of the gariguegarrigue are mainstays of the English "mixed border" of herbaceous and [[woody plant]]s found in [[English garden]]s, and around the world, though often grown under cooler, moister conditions.

Grapes that are grown in the ''gariguesgarrigues'' region of France are said to produce [[French wine|wines]] with a "barnyard" or "earthy" tone, or "the herbal scent of lavender that fills the hills of Provence in the summer time."<ref>{{cite web

| date = March 2000
| accessdateaccess-date = 9 March 2010

*'''{{CommonscatCommons category-inline|Garrigue}}'''

*{{CommonscatCommons category-inline|Maquis (vegetation)}}

*{{CommonscatCommons category-inline|Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub}}

[[Category:Flora of the Mediterranean| Basin]]