NVC community W3 is one of the woodland

Woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system

This article gives an overview of the woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.-Introduction:The woodland and scrub communities of the NVC were described in Volume 1 of British Plant Communities, first published in 1991.In total, 25 woodland/scrub...

 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 one of seven woodland communities in the NVC classed as "wet woodland

Wet woodland

Wet woodland is a biodiversity habitat in the United Kingdom.This is a woodland that occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They are typical of river valley, the surroundings of mires and raised bog, the transition zones between open water and drier ground, and beside small winding...

s".

This is a locally distributed community. There are no subcommunities.

Community composition

Thirteen constant species are found in this community:

• Grey Willow (Salix cinerea)
• Bay Willow
  Bay Willow
  Salix pentandra is a species of willow native to northern Europe and northern Asia.It is a large shrub or small tree growing to 14 m tall , usually growing in wet, boggy ground. The leaves are glossy dark green, 5-12 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin...
  
   (Salix pentandra)
• Wild Angelica
  Wild Angelica
  Wild Angelica is a species of plant that grows about one metre tall. It has broad, double-finned leaves. The stem is coarse, tubular and violet at the bottom, with broad leaf shafts.At the top the stem has fine hairs....
  
   (Angelica sylvestris)
• Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis)
• Bottle Sedge (Carex rostrata)
• Marsh-marigold (Caltha palustris)
• Meadowsweet
  Meadowsweet
  Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as Meadowsweet, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia...
  
   (Filipendula ulmaria)
• Common Marsh-bedstraw (Galium palustre)
• Water Avens
  Water Avens
  Geum rivale, the Water Avens, is a flowering plant of the family Rosaceae. Other names for the plant are Nodding Avens, Drooping Avens, Cure All and Water Flower. It is native to much of Europe, with the exception of Mediterranean areas, as well as some parts of Central Asia and North...
  
   (Geum rivale)
• Marsh Valerian (Valeriana dioica)
• Pointed Spear-moss (Calligeron cuspidatum)
• Swan's-neck Thyme-moss (Mnium hornum)
• Dotted Thyme-moss (Rhizomnium punctatum)

Six rare species are also associated with the community:

• Dark-leaved Willow (Salix myrsinifolia)
• Fibrous Tussock-sedge (Carex appropinquata)
• Lesser Tussock-sedge (Carex diandra)
• Coralroot Orchid
  Corallorhiza trifida
  Corallorhiza trifida, commonly known as early coralroot, northern coralroot, or yellow coralroot, is a coralroot orchid native to North America and Eurasia, with a circumboreal distribution.-Description:...
  
   (Corallorrhiza trifida)
• Tufted Loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora)
• Round-leaved Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia)

Distribution

This community is distributed locally in submontane regions of northern England and Scotland. The authors of British Plant Communities noted that although the community had not been recorded in Wales, it is likely to be found there too.