Plant communities on serpentine in Scotland

The plant communities on serpentine are named, classified and briefly described. Vegetation specific for serpentine belongs to the Violetea calaminariae, the class of communities on heavy metal soils. Other individual associations occur on serpentine soils but these are part of more general classes. The relationship of the separate vegetation units with the soils and their range in climate are outlined.The nomenclature of the vascular plants is that of Clapham et al. (1962) of the mosses that of Warburg (1963) of the liverworts that of Paton (1965) and of the lichens that of James (1965).The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr J. S. Robertson for making the 1980 relevés of Unst and Fetlar available for this paper.