Hard-leaved; leaves resistant to drought by having a great deal of sclerenchymatous (hardened) tissue and reduced intercellular spaces
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Australia and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that has hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. The word comes from the Greek sklēros (hard) and phyllon (leaf).
Sclerophyllous plants occur in many parts of the world, but are most typical in the chaparral biomes. They are prominent throughout western (Perth region), eastern (Sydney region) and southern (Adelaide region) parts of Australia, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biomes that cover the Mediterranean Basin, Californian chaparral and woodlands, Chilean Matorral, and the Cape Province of South Africa.