British NVC community MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland) is one of the mesotrophic grassland

Mesotrophic grasslands in the British National Vegetation Classification system

This article gives an overview of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.-Introduction:The mesotrophic grassland communities of the NVC were described in Volume 3 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1992, along with the...

 communities in the British National Vegetation Classification

British National Vegetation Classification

The British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain....

 system.

It is a very widespread community throughout the British lowlands. There are five subcommunities.

This type of plant community was described in 1919 as Arrhenatheretum elatioris Br.-Bl..

Community composition

The following constant species are found in this community:

• False Oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius)
• Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata)

One rare species, Nottingham Catchfly

Nottingham Catchfly

Silene nutans is a flowering plant in the genus Silene, most commonly known as Nottingham Catchfly.-Description:Silene nutans is a diploid, mainly outcrossing, herbaceous, perennial plant....

 (Silene nutans), is associated with this community.

Distribution

This community is very widespread in lowland areas in England, Wales and southern and eastern Scotland.

Subcommunities

There are five subcommunities, and two of these have been further subdivided into a number of variants:

• the Festuca rubra subcommunity, subdivided into:
  • a Centaurea scabiosa variant
  • a Geranium pratense variant
  • a Bromus sterilis variant
  • a Myrrhis odorata variant
  • an Epilobium angustifolium variant
• the Urtica dioica subcommunity, subdivided into:
  • a Papaver rhoeas variant
  • an Artemisia vulgaris variant
  • an Epilobium hirsutum variant
• the Filipendula ulmaria subcommunity
• the Pastinaca sativa subcommunity
• the Centaurea nigra subcommunity