Included here is Crimea of southern Ukraine and Novorossian Province (Krasnodar Region). The latter is situated in the northwestern Caucasus and consists of a series of parallel mountain ranges up to 500 m high, while the Crimea is basically a large peninsula of some 27,000 square kilometers extending into the Black Sea and connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land at Perekop.

Crimean Maquis (shiblyak)

Analogous to Mediterranean maquis this vegetation is largely dominated by shrubby, pubescent oak Quercus pubescens together with Crataegus pentagyna, Carpinus orientalis, Paliurus spina-christi and Pyracantha coccinea. It forms a prickly thicket ranging from 2-4 m in height. However, like Mediterranean maquis it is also considered to be a disclimax or disturbed climax resulting from human activity that has replaced Mediterranean oak and in dryer areas Pistacia woodland.

Crimean Phrygana

Phrygana is a Mediterranean term for open, dwarf scrub largely dominated by cushion shaped, aromatic, unpalatable, spiny shrubs that tend to be thermophilic and draught resistant. In the Crimea analogous vegetation can be found. In southeastern regions, for example, there are dwarf, thorny shrublands, which include the Crimean endemics Astragalus arnacantha (Fabaceae) and Onosma polyphyllum (Boraginaceae). Other species commonly found in Crimean phrygana include Asphodeline lutea and the endemic or near endemic Asphodeline taurica (Liliaceae).

References

Maleev, V. P. 1948. Vegetation of south Crimea. Proceedings of the Nikita Botanical Garden, 25: 29-48. (In Russian).

Rubtsov, N. I. 1956. A brief review of the Crimean flora endemics. Proceedings of the Nikita Botanical Garden, 29: 18-54. (In Russian).