British NVC community OV39

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British NVC community OV39 (Asplenium trichomanes - Asplenium ruta-muraria community) is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

This community is widely distributed, but especially so in the west of Britain. There are two subcommunities.

1 Community composition
2 Distribution
3 Subcommunities
4 Reference

[edit] Community composition

Four constant species are found in this community:

Wall-rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)
Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. trichomanes)
Silky Wall Feather-moss (Homalothecium sericeum)
Wall Scalewort (Porella platyphylla)

Two rare species are associated with the community:

Hutchinsia (Hornungia petraea)
Nottingham Catchfly (Silene nutans)

[edit] Distribution

This community is widely distributed, particularly in the more humid areas in the west of Britain.

[edit] Subcommunities

There are two subcommunities:

OV39a, the Trichostomum crispulum - Tortula intermedia subcommunity
OV39b, the Sedum acre - Arenaria serpyllifolia subcommunity

In the Trichostomum crispulum - Tortula intermedia subcommunity, flowering plants are scarce or absent, and stands are largely dominated by ferns and bryophytes. By contrast, stands of the Sedum acre - Arenaria serpyllifolia subcommunity typically contain many more vascular plants, with Sheep's Fescue (Fesctuca ovina), Wild Thyme (Thymus praecox), Thyme-leaved Sandwort (Arenaria serpyllifolia), Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre), Crested Hair-grass (Koeleria macrantha) and Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) all present as additional constant species in this subcommunity.