Lower meso-Mediterranean Quercus ilex formations of Catalonia, Languedoc, Provence and the lowlands of Tyrrhenian Italy rich in lauriphyllous and sclerophyllous shrubs and lianas, in particular Viburnum tinus, Arbutus unedo, Smilax aspera, Phillyrea latifolia, Ruscus aculeatus, Rubia peregrina; they are mostly degraded to arborescent matorral, the few remaining groves of holm oaks with a forest-like canopy being generally heavily modified by intensive human use.