What is "sclerophyll"

n. (context biology English) A form of vegetation that has hard leaf and short internodes

Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem). 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 woodlands, Chilean Matorral, and the Cape Province of South Africa.