Catalo-Provencal hill holm-oak forest

Humid upper meso-Mediterranean [Quercus ilex] formations of Montseny, Valles, Montserrat, Prades, Ports de Beseit, eastern Pyrenees, high Languedoc, Cévennes, upper Provence and southwestern Alps with an undergrowth poorer in shrubs, especially those of eu-Mediterranean affinities, and richer in often acidocline herbaceous species characteristic of supra-Mediterranean deciduous oak woods. Well-developed stands with full forest characteristics exist in several locations on the slopes of well-watered hills, in particular the tall, dense canopy of Montseny. Sparser, lower formations colonize many rocky hillsides in the entire upper meso-Mediterranean arc of the Gulf of Lions basin, locally ascending into the supra-Mediterranean level.