__NOTOC__ NVC community W9 (''

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 ...

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (, also ) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs o ...

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 community of northern and western Britain, particularly widespread in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. There are two subcommunities.

Community composition

Ten constant species are found in this community: *

Ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

(''Fraxinus excelsior'') *

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'') * Male fern (''Dryopteris filix-mas'') *

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.Wood-sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (British English) or (American English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family, Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...

(''Oxalis acetosella'') * Common dog-violet (''Viola riviniana'') * Common feather-moss (''Eurhynchium praelongum'') * Common striated feather-moss (''Eurhynchium striatum'') * Hart's-tongue thyme-moss (''Plagiomnium undulatum'') * Common tamarisk-moss (''Thuidium tamariscinum'') 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: * Baneberry (''Actaea spicata'') * Lesser hairy-brome (''Bromus benekenii'') * Northern hawk's-beard (''Crepis mollis'') * Yellow star-of-Bethlehem (''Gagea lutea'') * Whorled Solomon's-seal (''Polygonatum verticillatum'')

Distribution

This community is widespread throughout upland areas in northern and western Britain, where is replaces community W8. It is particularly well represented in Scotland and Wales, and the far northern counties of England. It has also been recorded at a single site in Devon.

Subcommunities

There are two subcommunities: * the so-called "typical" subcommunity * the ''Crepis paludosa'' subcommunity

References

* Rodwell, J. S. (1991) '' British Plant Communities Volume 1 - Woodlands and scrub'' (hardback), (paperback) {{NVC-WS W09