The alliance Berberidion vulgaris includes temperate European vegetation of dense scrub of 2–6 m in height, which occurs on dry to mesic soils. Some of the constituent shrub species are thorny or spiny (e.g. Berberis vulgaris, Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Pyrus pyraster, Rhamnus cathartica, Rosa spp. and Rubus spp.). Most of the dominant species also occur in the shrub layer of broad-leaved deciduous forests, while stunted or isolated individuals of trees are often found in shrub-dominated vegetation outside forests. The pattern of herb layer species richness and composition depends on the mosaic of denser and more open patches in the shrub canopy. Vegetation of the Berberidion vulgaris is common in the current Czech landscape. Most stands are secondary, developed at forest edges or as successional stages on abandoned grasslands or arable land. Some small patches of this vegetation on rock outcrops or at natural forest edges in the forest-steppe landscapes are natural.