Northern and central Italian holm-oak forests

Description (English)

Quercus ilex-dominated formations of Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coastal areas of the northern half of the Italian peninsula with Phillyrea media, Phillyrea angustifolia, Viburnum tinus, Ruscus aculeatus, Daphne gnidium, Fraxinus ornus, Rosa sempervirens, Lonicera implexa, Rubia peregrina, Smilax aspera, Myrtus communis, Clematis flammula, Tamus communis, Carex olbiensis, Luzula forsteri, Cyclamen repandum and often an admixture of Quercus suber or of the deciduous Quercus pubescens and Quercus cerris; at higher altitude they take on a more montane character with a greater prevalence of sub-Mediterranean elements. Although these formations are, like most other continental holm-oak communities, mostly degraded to arborescent matorral or coppice, fully developed forests subsist very locally, in particular in Toscany and Latium and, to a lesser extent, in Veneto and Emilia-Romagna.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification