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Maritime succulent scrub (MSS), also known as coastal succulent scrub (CSU), is a plant community within the sage scrub ecosystem of North America, characterized a predominance of succulent plants and a dependence on ocean fog as a consistent source of moisture. It forms a transitional zone between the mediterranean ecosystems of the California Floristic Province and the subtropical Sonoran Desert of western North America. It includes a number of species characteristic of the coastal sage scrub, but is complemented by a wide assemblage of desert and endemic species (about ~10%), giving it the greatest species richness of any of the sage scrub communities. Representative of this environment are two large succulents, Shaw's agave (Agave shawii subsp. shawii) and the golden-spined cereus (Bergerocactus emoryi), their association a prime example of the penetration of desert vegetation into a mediterranean climate area.

This habitat is most typical of northwestern Baja California, ranging from the town of San Vicente to the vicinity of Punta San Carlos, a coastal swathe of about 175 km. It also occurs farther north, but in a more fragmented pattern, occupying the fringe coastal bluffs, canyons, and mesas up to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego County, California. This habitat is present on the offshore islands of the region, including the Coronado Islands, Isla San Martin and Todos Santos Island, but also portions of San Clemente and Santa Catalina Island in the southern Channel Islands of California.

Description
Maritime succulent scrub is open, knee to waist high with more or less bare ground between shrubs. Because this community is associated with coastal bluffs and cliffs, the soil is usually thin, rocky or sandy. Other geological units within the community include clay mesas, which contain vernal pools, most densely concentrated around Punta Colonet, and volcanic fields, particularly in the area of San Quintin. Out of the California coastal shrublands, this community receives the least amount of annual precipitation. The precipitation is usually concentrated in winter, with about 100 - 250 mm of rain, but a significant amount of moisture is derived from coastal fog. The growing and flowering season is concentrated in the summer.

Maritime succulent scrub is characterized by a rich diversity and dominance of succulent plant s, mostly in the agave, cactus, stonecrop and spurge families. A second group unique to the community are tree species that descend from winter-deciduous ancestors, but have evolved to become drought-deciduous, such as Parry's buckeye (Aesculus parryi), chaparral ash (Fraxinus parryi) and Baja California hop tree (Ptelea aptera). Other shrubs in the community are usually partially woody, fire-resistant and sclerophyllous, and may be derived from coastal sage scrub, such as California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia) and California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). Other common species include jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), bushrue (Cneoridium dumosum), and tornleaf goldeneye (Bahiopsis laciniata).

Classification
This plant community is the transitional zone between the coastal sage scrub of the California Floristic Province and the Sonoran Desert of Baja California. It is classified by Holland and Rundel as part of the California scrub or sage scrub community, and by NatureServe under the Mojave-Sonoran Semi-Desert Scrub macrogroup.

Names for this community include maritime succulent scrub (MSS), coastal succulent scrub (CSU), and Baja Semi-Desert Coastal Succulent Scrub. In Spanish, the name for the community, matorral rosetófilo costero, refers to the predominance of succulent plants in the community with leaves arranged in basal rosettes, like in liveforever (Dudleya) species and Shaw's agave (Agave shawii subsp. shawii).

Distribution
Within the California Floristic Province, maritime succulent scrub occupies the region south of the coastal sage scrub zone, and extends to the southern end of the province. The northern limit of MSS are portions of the southern Channel Islands of San Clemente and Santa Catalina, followed by a coastal distribution along the southern half of San Diego County, surviving in conserved areas including Torrey Pines State Park, Cabrillo National Monument, and Border Field State Park. The coastal area between the Mexico–United States border and San Vicente mainly returns to the less diverse coastal sage scrub zone, with fragmented and mixed areas of MSS, especially along coastal, fog-influenced areas like the Punta Banda. South of San Vicente, the largest swathe of maritime succulent scrub is found, extending in a contiguous zone down to Punta San Carlos, where it borders the Central Desert section of the Sonoran Desert on the Baja California Peninsula.