__NOTOC__ NVC community MG1 is one of the mesotrophic grassland

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

in the

British National Vegetation Classification __NOTOC__ The British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain. A large scientific meeting of ecologists, botanists, and other related ...

system, characterised by the abundance of rank grasses and tall herbs in an ungrazed and infrequently cut sward. It was once very widespread and extensive, but is now much more localised and restricted to edge habitats such as road verges, field margins and unmanaged land. It is familiar to many as "the long grass you used to play in as a child", and it can be found throughout the lowlands and upland fringes of Britain; there are similar vegetation communities that occur throughout Europe. Meadow by pond

Description

MG1 ''Arrhenatherum elatius'' grassland is often, but not always, characterised by an abundance of

false oat-grass ''Arrhenatherum elatius'' is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as false oat-grass, and also bulbous oat grass (subsp. ''bulbosum''), tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass. It is na ...

and, in the most typical form,

cow parsley ''Anthriscus sylvestris'', known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae). It is also sometimes called mother-di ...

. It does, however, take many forms, because this community can used to describe almost any ungrazed and rarely mown stand of tall grasses and herbs on well-drained, mesotrophic soils. The dominant grasses often include

cock's-foot ''Dactylis'' is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the Pooideae, bluegrass subfamily within the Poaceae, grass family. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an invasive species. They ar ...

yorkshire-fog ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In Nor ...

red fescue ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to w ...

meadow foxtail ''Alopecurus pratensis'', known as the meadow foxtail or the field meadow foxtail, is a perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia. This common plant is found on grasslands, especially on neutral so ...

and - in certain situations - barren brome,

upright brome ''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The specific epithet ''erectus'' is Latin, meaning "erect". ...

, great brome or

tall fescue ''Lolium arundinaceum'', commonly known as tall fescue, is a cool-season, perennial C3 grass species native to Europe and introduced to North America and other parts of the world. It naturally occurs in grasslands and coastal marshes.Texas Park ...

. Amongst the grasses, and sometimes almost displacing them, can be

hogweed Hogweed is a common name for several unrelated plants. Hogweed may refer to: * '' Heracleum'', a genus in the carrot family containing several plants often called hogweed, including: ** ''Heracleum sphondylium'', the common hogweed ** ''Heracleu ...

, creeping thistle,

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

or, in particular variants, wild parsnip, meadowsweet, alexanders, sweet cicely,

rosebay willowherb ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family, Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed and in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. It is also known by the Synonym (taxonomy), ...

great willowherb ''Epilobium hirsutum'' is a flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus '' Epilobium'' in the family Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb. Local names include codlins-and-cream ...

Nowadays MG1 usually occurs in marginal habitats, field edges, road verges and various types of unmanaged land. There is no standard term for this in English ecological texts, but in France the habitat is known as ''ourlets'' and ''lisières'' (literally, hems and borders). The ourlets are the edges of roads, paths and streams, whereas the lisières are the unmanaged margins of fields. In the past, however, (and in much of Europe) ''Arrhenatherum elatius'' grasslands made up whole meadows and lightly-grazed unenclosed pastures. MG1 grassland often assumes some of the characteristics of its neighbouring vegetation. For example, an orchard beside a wood might be rich in shade-tolerant plants such as

dog's-mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.lesser celandine ''Ficaria verna'' (formerly ''Ranunculus ficaria'' ), commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and d ...

, whereas a roadside running through chalk grassland might contain

field scabious ''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Description It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...

and

common rock-rose ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is borde ...

. One

rare species A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon, scarce, or infrequently encountered. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and is distinct from the term ''endangered species, endangered'' or ''threatened ...

, Nottingham catchfly (''Silene nutans''), is associated with this community.

Subcommunities

MG1 grassland is unusual in the number of subcommunities (five, plus nine variants) that have been described, but it could easily have more added to the list. The reason for this diversity is that it is quite a scruffy type of vegetation, taken to be of little value, so it was perhaps not deemed important enough to devote more attention to it. The subcommunities are: * MG1a ''

Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to w ...

'' subcommunity, which tends to be very grassy and species-poor, often as a result of having been resown with grass seed mixes on disturbed roadside verges. Within this subcommunity are five variants: ** '' Centaurea scabiosa'' variant, on base-rich soils ** ''

Geranium pratense ''Geranium pratense'', the meadow crane's-bill or meadow geranium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Geraniaceae, native to Europe and Asia. Forming a clump up to broad, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and lax saucer-sh ...

'' variant, on hilly roadsides in northern England ** ''

Bromus sterilis ''Bromus sterilis'' is an Annual plant, annual or Biennial plant, biennial species of Bromus, bromegrass known as barren brome, poverty brome, and sterile brome. Description This is an Annual plant, annual or Biennial plant, biennial grass ran ...

'' variant, usually in towns ** '' Myrrhis odorata'' variant, which is highly localised near old habitation, where this herb was previously cultivated ** ''

Epilobium angustifolium ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family, Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed and in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. It is also known by the synonyms ''Chameri ...

'' variant, which is characteristic of road verges in Scotland * MG1b ''

Urtica dioica ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...

'' subcommunity, which is indicative of nutrient enrichment, possibly on arable field margins. It can be further divided into three variants ** ''

Papaver rhoeas ''Papaver rhoeas'', with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, red poppy, and Odai, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is native to north Afr ...

'' variant, in ploughed fields ** ''

Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', commonly known as mugwort, common mugwort, or wormwood, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus '' Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Art ...

'' variant, on road verges in farmed areas ** ''

Epilobium hirsutum ''Epilobium hirsutum'' is a flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus '' Epilobium'' in the family Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb. Local names include codlins-and-cream ...

'' variant, alongside streams and ditches in farmland * MG1c ''

Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near East and Middle East). It has ...

'' subcommunity, which is found in wet margins of pastures beside rivers * MG1d '' Pastinaca sativa'' subcommunity, which is typical of chalk or limestone grassland, and can be quite species-rich * MG1e ''

Centaurea nigra ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and is also known as lesser knapweed, common knapweed, black knapweed and bell weed. It is native to central Europe, and has been introduced to temperate North America ...

'' subcommunity, which can be a species-rich grassland of neutral to slightly acid soils, and has one variant ** '' Pimpinella saxifraga'' variant, with reduced cover of small plants but increased bryophytes.

References

{{NVC-MG MG01