Formations of southern Belgium, Germany, France, northern Spain and the northern Apennines. Where they occur in the vicinity of communities of the Festucetalia valesiacae, the latter occupy cites with more continental microclimates than those inhabited by the formations of this group.
Hill and montane xerophile calcareous grasslands of the Pyrenees and adjacent areas; in the pubescent oak level of the eastern part of the range Xerobromion grasslands with Koeleria vallesiana, Festuca ovina s.l. and Bromus erectus come in contact with Aphyllanthion formations occupying more humid soils and closed postcultural Brachypodium grasslands of the Brachypodion phoenicoidis. On the south side of the range, xerophile pastures are represented in lower zones and on the protected adrets by communities of the Aphyllanthion, of decidedly Mediterranean hue, while the formations of the Xerobromion, of more Euro-Siberian character, occupy the other situations. Chamaephytes such as Helianthemum nummularium, Artemisia alba, Teucrium pyrenaicum, Ononis spinosa, O. natrix are abundant alongside the gramineous Phleum phleoides, Festuca ovina s.l., and Carex humilis.