This forest type occurs where two of the dry season months receive less than 1 inch of rain. It is not found in Africa. Two layers are again evident. In this case both the upper story of trees 60 to 80 feet tall and the understory trees some 10 to 30 tall are small-leafed and deciduous. The forest is poor in lianas, epiphytes, and herbs.
Palms are also common.
Thorn Forest or Thornscrub. Terrestrial bromeliads also occur. In the neotropics, this vegetation type is represented by the caatinga in northeast Brazil and by the thornscrub communities of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.