Synonymy

Includes Brassicetum oleraceae Géhu 1962.

Constant species

Festuca rubra, Brassica oleracea, Dactylis glomerata, Daucus carota ssp. gummifer.

Rare species

Brassica oleracea, Ophrys sphegodes, Silene nutans.

Physiognomy

The Brassica oleracea community generally has an irregular grassy cover of Festuca rubra and some Dactylis glomerata with prominent erect or decumbent plants of B. oleracea and a little Daucus carota spp. gummifer Plantago lanceolata is the most frequent associate throughout, but it is never abundant. Cheiranthus cheiri and Sonchus oleraceus, though infrequent, may be conspicuous when flowering.

Sub-communities

Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima sub-community: Brassicetum oleraceae Géhu 1962. B. oleracea is more abundant in this species-poor sub-community and Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima is an additional constant which may be codominant with B. oleracea and Festuca rubra. Maritime species, such as Armeria maritima, Silene vulgaris ssp. maritima and Bromus hordeaceus ssp. ferronii are confined to this sub-community though none is ever abundant.

Ononis repens sub-community. Additional constants here are O. repens, Silene nutans, Centaurea scabiosa and Rumex acetosa. B. oleracea is less abundant here than in the Beta sub-community. Also frequent are Brachypodium pinnatum (which often co-dominates with F. rubra), Hieracium pilosella and Teucrium scorodonia and among the occasional species are some characteristic of calcicolous grasslands including Ophyrs sphegodes (Summerhayes 1968).