__NOTOC__ NVC community W8 (''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Alb ...

Acer campestre ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native plant, native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mou ...

Mercurialis perennis ''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.woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

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. It is one of the six communities falling in the "mixed deciduous and oak/birch woodlands" group. This is a widely distributed community. There are seven subcommunities.

Community composition

Six constant species are found in this community: *

Field Maple ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

(''Acer campestre'') *

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

(''Corylus avellana'') * Ash (''Fraxinus excelsior'') *

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.Bramble ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...

(''Rubus fruticosus'' agg.) * Common Feather-moss (''Eurhynchium praelongum'') The following

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 ...

are also associated with the community: * Narrow-leaved Bittercress (''Cardamine impatiens'') *

Mezereon ''Daphne mezereum'', commonly known as mezereum, mezereon, February daphne, spurge laurel or spurge olive, is a species of ''Daphne'' in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to most of Europe and Western Asia, north to northern Scand ...

(''Daphne mezereum'') * Wood Fescue (''Festuca altissima'') *

Mountain Currant ''Ribes alpinum'', known as mountain currant or alpine currant, is a small deciduous, dioecious shrub native to central and northern Europe from Finland and Norway south to the Alps and Pyrenees and Caucasus, Georgia; in the south of its range, ...

(''Ribes alpinum'') *

Oxlip ''Primula elatior'', the oxlip (or true oxlip), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts o ...

(''Primula elatior'') * ''Primula × digenea'', the hybrid between Oxlip and Primrose (''P. vulgaris'') *

Large-leaved Lime ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native to much of continental Europe as well as southwestern Great Britain, growing ...

(''Tilia platyphyllos'')

Distribution

This community is widespread throughout lowland Britain, becoming scarcer in the north and west, where it is replaced by community W9.

Subcommunities

There are seven subcommunities: * the ''Primula vulgaris'' - ''Glechoma hederacea'' subcommunity * the ''Anemone nemorosa'' subcommunity * the ''Deschampsia cespitosa'' subcommunity * the ''Hedera helix'' subcommunity * the ''Geranium robertianum'' subcommunity * the ''Allium ursinum'' subcommunity * the ''Teucrium scorodonia'' subcommunity

References

* Rodwell, J. S. (1991) '' British Plant Communities Volume 1 - Woodlands and scrub'' (hardback), (paperback) {{NVC-WS W08