Chestnut forests

These forests grow on volcanic slopes preferably facing north in cool, deep, siliceous soils. The ground cover, which is normally rich in humus and fairly damp, features many early-flowering herbaceous species such as snowdrops, dog's tooth violets, hellebores, liverwort, wild garlic, Solomon's Seal, daffodils, bilberries or rare and valuable Turk's cap lilies and tiger lilies: enchanting traces of Alpine flora that are almost unthinkable in a hillside environment that has been so profoundly affected by human activity for millennia. Laburnum, mock orange, service trees, beech trees and a few birch trees are found here and there.