It was once very widespread and extensive, but is now much more localised and restricted to edge habitats such as road verges, field margins and unmanaged land.
It is familiar to many as "the long grass you used to play in as a child",[1] and it can be found throughout the lowlands and upland fringes of Britain; there are similar vegetation communities that occur throughout Europe.
It does, however, take many forms, because this community can used to describe almost any ungrazed and rarely mown stand of tall grasses and herbs on well-drained, mesotrophic soils.
There is no standard term for this in English ecological texts, but in France the habitat is known as ourlets and lisières (literally, hems and borders).
For example, an orchard beside a wood might be rich in shade-tolerant plants such as dog's-mercury and lesser celandine, whereas a roadside running through chalk grassland might contain field scabious and common rock-rose.