MC8: Festuca rubra-Armeria maritima maritime grassland

Summary

Synonymy

Festuca rubra community McLean 1935; Festucetum rubrae Gillham 1953; Armerietum Goodman & Gillham 1954, McVean 1961; Sileno maritimae-Festucetum pruinosae R. Tx. 1963 p.p., Armerieto maritimae-Daucetum gummiferi Géhu 1964 p.p., Festuco-Armerietum rupestris Malloch 1971.

Constant species

Festuca rubra, Armeria maritima.

Rare species

Asparagus officinalis ssp. prostratus, Astragalus danicus, Brassica oleracea, Carpobrotus edulis, Parapholis incurva, Scilla verna, Senecio integrifolius spp. maritimus, Silene nutans, Trifolium occidentale.

Physiognomy

The Festuca rubra-Armeria maritima community is a grassland with a generally closed sward, usually dominated by F. rubra which often forms a thick mattress. A. maritima may be abundant as scattered bulky cushions but it is not usually a dominant species. Frequent throughout the community are Agrostis stolonifera, Plantago maritima, Daucus carota ssp. gummifer and Silene vulgar is ssp. maritima. Bryophytes are generally sparse.

Sub-communities

Typical sub-community: Festuca rubra community McLean 1935; Coastal Armerietum Goodman & Gillham 1954 p.p.; Hirta mixed grassland p.p. & Rona Armerietum McVean 1961; Festuco-Armerietum rupestris, typical sub-association Malloch 1971. In this rather species-poor sub-community, F. rubra is over whelmingly dominant as a mattress which may attain a thickness of 40 cm. There are scattered cushions of Armeria maritima but Agrostis stolonifera is the only other species that is at all frequent. No species is preferential here but the prostrate maritime form of Asparagus officinalis is a notable rarity. Bryophytes are rarely able to find a place in the thick turf.