Humid upper meso-Mediterranean Quercus ilex formations of Montseny, Valles, Montserrat, Prades, Ports de Beseit, eastern Pyrenees, high Languedoc, Cévennes, upper Provence and southwestern Alps with an undergrowth poorer in shrubs, especially those of eu-Mediterranean affinities, and richer in often acidocline herbaceous species characteristic of supra-Mediterranean deciduous oak woods. Well-developed stands with full forest characteristics exist in several locations on the slopes of well-watered hills, in particular the tall, dense canopy of Montseny. Sparser, lower formations colonize many rocky hillsides in the entire upper meso-Mediterranean arc of the Gulf of Lions basin, locally ascending into the supra-Mediterranean level.