garigue
9.9
A low open area of small shrubs and aromatic herbs on dry rocky Mediterranean hills
- noun
- /ɡəˈriːɡ/
:
gariga
- As we walked through the garigue, the air was filled with the scent of wild thyme and rosemary.
Examples
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The hiker admired the vibrant plants that flourished in the garigue along the rocky Mediterranean coast.
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In spring, the garigue bursts into color with blooming flowers that attract many butterflies.
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This corps proved wholly inept, however, against fires propagating across garigue-clothed hillsides, olive groves underlain with grass, and conifer woods.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
1
9.9
Low bushy plants that grow on dry rocky hills near the Mediterranean Sea and smell of herbs
has identical meaning but is an alternate spelling form
How Shrubby
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word garigue comes from a southern French (Provençal) word garriga that meant 'rocky scrub' or 'open scrubland' used for the dry, low hills around the Mediterranean. So garigue today names those low, aromatic shrubs and herbs that grow on dry, rocky hills.