__NOTOC__ NVC community W11 (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

Oxalis acetosella ''Oxalis acetosella'', the wood sorrel or common wood sorrel, is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the family '' Oxalidaceae'', common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The specific epithet ''acetosella'' refers to its sour taste. The common ...

'' woodland) is one of the

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, 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 sunlight and limited shade (se ...

communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of the six communities falling in the "mixed deciduous and oak/birch woodlands" group. This is a widespread upland community of northern and western Britain. There are four subcommunities.

Community composition

The following constant species are found in this community: *

Silver Birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

(''Betula pendula'') /

Downy Birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

(''Betula pubescens'') *

Common Bent ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family ( Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial be ...

(''Agrostis capillaris'') *

Sweet Vernal-grass ''Anthoxanthum odoratum'', known as sweet vernal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass that is native to acidic grassland in Eurasia and northern Africa. It is grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be f ...

(''Anthoxanthum odoratum'') * Wavy Hair-grass (''Deschampsia flexuosa'') *

Heath Bedstraw ''Galium saxatile'' or heath bedstraw is a plant species of the genus ''Galium''. It is related to cleavers. ''Galium saxatile'' is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of , and flower ...

(''Galium saxatile'') * Creeping Soft-grass (''Holcus mollis'') * Wood-sorrel (''Oxalis acetosella'') *

Tormentil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...

(''Potentilla erecta'') *

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

(''Pteridium aquilinum'') * Common Dog-violet (''Viola riviniana'') * Glittering Wood-moss (''Hylocomium splendens'') * Neat Feather-moss (''Pseudoscleropodium purum'') * Springy Turf-moss (''Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus'') * Common Tamarisk-moss (''Thuidium tamariscinum'') No rare species are also associated with the community.

Distribution

This community is widespread throughout upland areas in northern and western Britain, where is replaces community W10. It is particularly well represented in Scotland, north Wales, and northwest England. It is also present in the Southwest Peninsula.

Subcommunities

There are four subcommunities: * the ''Dryopteris dilatata'' subcommunity * the ''Blechnum spicant'' subcommunity * the ''Anemone nemorosa'' subcommunity * the ''Stellaria holostea'' - ''Hypericum pulchrum'' subcommunity

References

* Rodwell, J. S. (1991) '' British Plant Communities Volume 1 - Woodlands and scrub'' (hardback), (paperback) {{NVC-WS W11