Unique to base-rich bedrocks in the Italian Peninsula and Sicily, best developed within the submediterranean bioclimatic zone, this grassland is variously dominated by perennial grasses and herbs, or mat formers and sub-shrubs on steeper, rockier ground. Generally species-rich, and sometimes with contingents of annuals and, in disturbed places, geophytes, the habitat sometimes hosts endemic plants. Developed through clearance of broadleaved and mixed forest it is maintained by traditional grazing in a distinctive cultural landscape.