Evergreen sclerophyllous or lauriphyllous shrub vegetation, with a more or less closed canopy structure, and with few annuals, some geophytes and often scattered trees, some of which may be in shrub form. Unlike arborescent matorral, maquis is typically dominated by species that do not have the potential to grow into tall trees. In high maquis these may be Arbutus spp., Erica arborea, Erica scoparia, Juniperus oxycedrus, Phillyrea spp. In low maquis, Cistus spp., Erica spp., Genista spp., Lavandula spp. may predominate.
Tall shrubby formations of the meso- and thermo-Mediterranean zones of the Mediterranean basin with a dominant stratum of Erica arborea, Arbutus unedo, Quercus spp. and Pistacia lentiscus, but no or few emergent oaks, in contrast to unit F5.1.