Endemic oro-Mediterranean heaths with gorse

Description (English)

Primary cushion heaths of the high, dry mountains of the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian regions, with low, cushion-forming, often spiny shrubs, such as Acantholimon, Astragalus, Erinacea, Vella, Bupleurum, Ptilotrichum, Genista, Echinospartum, Anthyllis and various composites and labiates; secondary, zoogenic cushion heaths of the same regions, either downslope extensions of the high-altitude formations, and dominated by the same species, or specifically montane or steppic, often Genista-dominated in the Mediterranean region.
The following subtypes are included:
Pal. 31.71 Pyrenean hedgehog-heaths. Junipero-Genistetum horridae.
Echinospartum horridum formations of dry slopes of the supra-Mediterranean zone of the southern Pyrenees; accompanying the dense, spiny cushions are Juniperus hemisphaerica, Buxus sempervirens, Ononis fruticosa, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ssp. crassifolia and Pinus sylvestris.
Pal. 31.72 Cordilleran hedgehog-heaths. Cytiso oromediterranei-Echinospartetum barnadesii, Echinosparto pulviniformis-Cytisetum oromediterranei, Teucrii salviastri-Echinospartetum pulviniformis, Genisto hystricis-Echinospartetum lusitanici
Formations of the Cordillera Central and adjacent areas dominated by diverse forms of Echinospartum.
Pal. 31.73 Nevadan hedgehog-heaths. Erinacetalia p., Lavandulo-Genistion boissieri p.
Highly developed hedgehog formations of the Sierra Nevada with Erinacea anthyllis, Vella spinosa, Astragalus sempervirens ssp. nevadensis, Astragalus granatensis ssp. granatensis (Astragalus boissieri), Ptilotrichum spinosum, Bupleurum spinosum, Genista baetica. Associated dwarf suffrutescent formations of high slopes and crests.
Pal. 31.74 Franco-Iberian hedgehog-heaths
Oro-Mediterranean and montane hedgehog-heaths of other Iberian ranges and of southern France.
Pal. 31.75 Cyrno-Sardian hedgehog-heaths. Carici-Genistetalia (Carlinetalia macrocephalae)
Expanses of small, compact bushes with Astragalus sirinicus ssp. genargenteus, Rosa serafinii, Anthyllis hermanniae, Thymus herba-barona, Cerastium boissieri, Genista salzmannii, Genista corsica, Berberis aetnensis, Prunus prostrata and Daphne oleoides, of Sardinian and Corsican mountains.
Pal. 31.76 Mount Etna hedgehog-heaths. Astragaletum siculi
Lava-colonising formations with cushions of Astragalus granatensis ssp. siculus, Berberis aetnensis, Juniperus hemisphaerica, Genista aetnensis, Adenocarpus bivonae, Viola aethnensis.
Pal. 31.77 Madonie and Apennine hedgehog-heaths
Hedgehog-heaths formed by Astragalus spp. or Genista spp., of the mountains of the southern Italian peninsula and Sicily, except Etna.
Pal. 31.78 Helleno-Balkanic sylvatic Astragalus hedgehog-heaths
Hedgehog-heaths occupying situations peripheral to the main range of the alti- and oro-Mediterranean hedgehog-heath communities of high Hellenic mountains (Pal. 31.79 and 31.7A), mostly dominated by Astragalus angustifolius, characteristic, in particular, of zoogenous clearings within the forest belt of southern Greek mountains and of regions of irradiation of Mediterranean communities within the hills and mountains of the Moesian zone.
Pal. 31.79 Hellenic oro-Mediterranean hedgehog-heaths. Daphno-Festucetea: Eryngio-Bromion p.
Hedgehog-heaths developed on relatively humus-rich rendziniform soils at or above treeline, in the 1700-2200 m altitudinal range of high Greek mountains; hedgehog-heath facies of associated grasslands; similar, impoverished formations descending into the forest belts of the same mountains, with the exception of those of the Peloponnese, where they are replaced by distinctive formations, listed under Pal. 31.78.
Pal. 31.7A Hellenic alti-Mediterranean hedgehog-heaths. Daphno-Festucetea: Astragalo-Seslerion
Shrubby formations of the high mountains of the Peloponnese, of the southern mainland Greek mountains and of the Thessalian Olympus system, colonising the altitudinal range immediately above that occupied by the communities of Pal. 31.79, as well as stony slopes with shallow soil, loose screes and humus-deficient soils within the main 1700-2200 m range of these communities. Included are true spiny hedgehog-heaths, cushiony formations of dwarf suffrutescents and bush-dominated facies of stripped grasslands. Astragalus angustifolius, Acantholimon androsaceum, Astragalus lacteus, Convolvulus cochlearis, Rindera graeca, Aster alpinus, Globularia stygia, Minuartia stellata, Erysimum pusillum, Thymus teucrioides, Alyssum kionae, Paronychia kapela, Thymus hirsutus, Anthyllis aurea, Achillea ageratifolia, Sideritis scardica, Linum flavum, Thymus boissieri, Sesleria coerulans are characteristic.
Pal. 31.7B Cretan hedgehog-heaths. Saturejetea spinosae
Hedgehog-heaths of high mountains of Crete, in the 1500-2500 m altitudinal range, with Astragalus creticus ssp. creticus, Astragalus angustifolius, Acantholimon androsaceum, Atraphaxis billardieri, Berberis cretica, Chamaecytisus creticus, Daphne oleoides, Prunus prostrata, Euphorbia acanthothamnos, Verbascum spinosum, Sideritis syriaca, Satureja spinosa, Asperula idaea, Rhamnus prunifolius, Pimpinella tragium, Acinos alpinus.
Pal. 31.7C Aegean summital hedgehog-heaths
Isolated, endemic-rich, mostly summital hedgehog-heaths of calcareous mountains of Aegean islands and Mount Athos.
Pal. 31.7D Southern Hellenic Genista acanthoclada hedgehog-heaths
Formations dominated by hemispherical shrubs of Genista acanthoclada of the middle levels (about 800 - 1200 m) of mountains and plateaux of the Peloponnese.
Pal. 31.7E Astragalus sempervirens hedgehog-heaths
Astragalus sempervirens ssp. sempervirens, Astragalus sempervirens ssp. muticus, Astragalus sempervirens ssp. cephalonicus formations of the southern Alps, the eastern Pyrenees, Iberia, the Apennines and Greece, transitional between the alpine and subalpine heaths of Pal. 31.4 and the true Mediterranean hedgehog-heaths of Pal. 31.7.
Pal. 31.7F Canarian cushion-heaths. Spartocytision nubigeni
Open formations dominated by broom-like plants of the montane zone (above 1900 m) of the Canary Islands, with many endemic species.