Forests of the Iberian Peninsula blackberry bushes, blackthorn, hawthorn and other more or less thorny shrubs; this role can also be filled by smaller thorny plants, "los piornales", and clumps of broom. The major forests in this area are beech, oak, birch, and fir. Beech forests ("Fagus sylvatica") are found in the mountain layer of the Iberian Eurosiberian region from 800 to 1500 metres up. The soil is cool, as often chalky as siliceous (rich in silica), and nearly always acidified by rain. The layer is characterised by the beech tree. The beech tree projects a deep shadow, and so its dense foliage usually excludes
Carex sylvatica "wood-sedge", or, in North America, "European woodland sedge". "Carex sylvatica" can be used in gardens as ground cover under trees or shrubs. Carl Linnaeus recorded that the Sami people used the plant as an insulating wadding. Carex sylvatica Carex sylvatica is a species of sedge found in deciduous woodlands across Europe. It typically reaches tall, and has an inflorescence made up of 3–5 pendent female spikes and a single male spike. It is also used as a garden plant, and has been introduced to North America and New Zealand. "Carex sylvatica" "resembles a small "C. pendula"", growing to around tall,