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NVC community CG7 (''Festuca ovina - Hieracium pilosella - Thymus praecox/pulegioides'' grassland) is one of the
calcicolous grassland communities
A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...
in the
British National Vegetation Classification
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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 pr ...
system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as the eastern counterpart of "typical" chalk grassland (community
CG2).
It is a comparatively widely distributed community. There are five
subcommunities.
Community composition
The following
constant species are found in this community:
*
Sheep's Fescue (''Festuca ovina'')
*
Mouse-ear Hawkweed (''Hieracium pilosella'')
*
Rough Hawkbit (''Leontodon hispidus'')
*
Wild Thyme (''Thymus praecox'') /
Large Thyme
''Thymus pulegioides'', common names broad-leaved thyme or lemon thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. Growing to tall by wide, it is a small spreading subshrub with strongly aromatic leaves, and lila ...
(''T. pulegioides'')
*
Cypress-leaved Plait-moss
''Hypnum cupressiforme'', the cypress-leaved plaitmoss or hypnum moss, is a common and widespread species of moss belonging to the genus '' Hypnum''. It is found in all continents except Antarctica and occurs in a wide variety of habitats and cl ...
(''Hypnum cupressiforme'')
The following
rare species are also associated with the community:
*
Field Wormwood
''Artemisia campestris'' is a common and widespread species of plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is native to a wide region of Eurasia and North America. Common names include field wormwood, beach wormwood, northern wormwood, Breck ...
(''Artemisia campestris'')
*
Purple Milk-vetch (''Astragalus danicus'')
*
Rare Spring-sedge (''Carex ericetorum'')
*
Wall Bedstraw (''Galium parisiense'')
*
Lizard Orchid
''Himantoglossum hircinum'', the lizard orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Himantoglossum'' found in Europe and North Africa.
Description
''Himantoglossum hircinum'' is a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching a height of . It ...
(''Himantoglossum hircinum'')
*
Hutchinsia
''Noccaea'' is a problematic genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to temperate areas of western North America, southern South America, northern Africa, Europe and Asia.
Species
Currently accepted species include:
*''Noc ...
(''Hornungia petraea'')
*
Bur Medick (''Medicago minima'')
*
Sickle Medick
''Medicago falcata'' is a plant species of the genus ''Medicago''. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíō ...
(''Medicago falcata'')
*
Sand Lucerne (''Medicago sativa'' ssp. ''varia'')
*
Fine-leaved Sandwort (''Minuartia hybrida'')
*
Purple-stem Cat's-tail (''Phleum phleoides'')
*
Spring Cinquefoil
''Potentilla neumanniana'', the spring cinquefoil or spotted cinquefoil, is a perennial flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae). It may grow up to the height of 5–15 cm.
It was first scientifically described by H.G.L. Reichenbach ...
(''Potentilla neumanniana'')
*
Sand Catchfly
''Silene conica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names striped corn catchfly and sand catchfly. It grows in dunes and sandy soils and is widespread in Europe and western Asia. It has an annual l ...
(''Silene conica'')
*
Spanish Catchfly
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
** Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
** Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, ...
(''Silene otites'')
*
Breckland Thyme
''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It ...
(''Thymus serpyllum'')
*
Spiked Speedwell (''Veronica spicata'')
*
Spring Speedwell
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...
(''Veronica verna'')
*
Side-fruited Crisp-moss ''Pleurochaeta squarrosa''
* the
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[Bacidia muscorum
''Bacidia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846. Species in the genus are crust-like lichens with stemless apothecia; they have green algae (chloroccoid) ...]
''
* the lichen ''
Buellia epigaea
''Buellia'' is a genus of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the family Caliciaceae. The fungi are usually part of a crustose lichen. In this case, the lichen species is given the same name as the fungus. But members may also grow as parasites ...
''
* the lichen ''
Diploschistes scrupsos'' var. ''bryophilus''
* the lichen ''
Fulgensia fulgens
''Fulgensia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Teloschistaceae.
Gallery
Image:Fulgensia fulgens Psora decipiens 141007.jpg, ''Fulgensia fulgens'', above (yellow) ''Psora decipiens'', below (red), Tauberland, Germany
Image:Fulgensia ...
''
* the lichen ''
Lecidea decipiens''
* the lichen ''
Squamaria lentigera''
* the lichen ''
Toximia caerulea'' var. ''nigricans''
* the lichen ''
Toximia lobulata''
Distribution
This community is found scattered throughout
chalk grassland sites in southern
England, particularly in
The Brecks
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...
on the
Norfolk/
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
border, with outlying clusters in the
Yorkshire Wolds (also on
chalk), and on
Carboniferous limestone in
Derbyshire and
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...
.
Subcommunities
There are five
subcommunities:
* the ''Koeleria macrantha'' subcommunity
* the ''Cladonia spp.'' subcommunity
* the ''Ditrichum flexicaule - Diploschistes scruposus var. bryophilus'' subcommunity
* the ''Fragaria vesca - Erigeron acer'' subcommunity
* the ''Medicago lupulina - Rumex acetosa'' subcommunity
References
*
Rodwell, J. S.
John S. Rodwell (1946 – present) is an ecologist who was based at the University of Lancaster, noted for his role in the development of the British National Vegetation Classification and as editor of the five volumes of ''British Plant Commu ...
(1992) ''
British Plant Communities Volume 3 - Grasslands and montane communities'' (hardback), (paperback)
{{NVC-CG
CG07