British NVC community CG2
NVC community CG2 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as "typical" chalk grassland.
It is a comparatively widely distributed community. There are four subcommunities.
Community composition
The following constant species are found in this community:- Meadow Oat-grass
- Quaking-grass
- Glaucous Sedge
- Sheep's Fescue
- Mouse-ear Hawkweed
- Crested Hair-grass
- Rough Hawkbit
- Fairy Flax
- Bird's-foot Trefoil
- Ribwort Plantain
- Salad Burnet
- Small Scabious
- Wild Thyme
- Man Orchid
- Ground-pine
- Purple Milk-vetch
- Great Pignut
- Rare Spring Sedge
- Dwarf Sedge
- Soft-leaved Sedge
- Dwarf Mouse-ear
- Tuberous Thistle
- Chalk Eyebright
- Slender Bedstraw
- Limestone Bedstraw
- Early Gentian
- Chiltern Gentian
- Musk Orchid
- Spotted Cat's-ear
- Wild Candytuft
- Perennial Flax
- Late Spider-orchid
- Early Spider-orchid
- Monkey Orchid
- Burnt Orchid
- Broomrape
- Round-headed Rampion
- Dwarf Milkwort
- Chalk Milkwort
- Pasqueflower
- Meadow Clary
- Field Fleawort
- Moon Carrot
- Nottingham Catchfly
- Autumn Ladies'-tresses
- Cut-leaved Germander
- Bastard-toadflax
- Large Thyme
- Spiked Speedwell
Distribution
This community is found in lowland limestone grassland throughout England and Wales.Subcommunities
There are four subcommunities, one of which is subdivided into three variants:- the Cirsium acaule - Asperula cynanchica subcommunity, subdivided into:
- * a typical variant
- * a Filipendula vulgaris - Helinathemum nummularium variant
- * a Pseudoscleropodium purum - Prunella vulgaris variant
- the Succisa pratensis - Leucanthemum vulgare subcommunity
- the Holcus lanatus - Trifolium repens subcommunity'
- the Dicranum scoparium'' subcommunity'''