Many studies suggest the importance of boundary features on plant community dynamics. Our aim was to investigate the influence of boundary features on edge plant assemblages in semi-natural dry grasslands. For this purpose we selected 16 grassland edges in the central portion of the Natura 2000 site Murgia Alta, in southeastern Italy. These sites were selected according to a combination of boundary features, i.e. the adjoining land use type (road or cereal crop), slope (grassland tilted towards matrix or flat) and stonewall (occurring or not). Within each site, cover value of vascular plant species was sampled along 0.5x2.5m linear plot. A correspondence analysis has been used for the simultaneous ordination of species presence/absence data and the 16 edge plots. Grassland edges with stonewall were characterized either by forest ecotone species in case of sloped edges, or by species typical of sub-mesic calcareous grasslands in case of flat edges. Therefore, stonewall may have a protective role towards the studied communities of conservation concern in case of flat morphology. In case of unbounded edge, no change in species assemblage was clearly explained by adjoining land use type or slope. Assemblages dominated by either ruderal or xerothermic grassland species were observed in all cases of unbounded edges. Furthermore, several species associated with xerothermic conditions were characteristic of highly grazed pastures, suggesting an overlooked role of grazing intensity at the edge. The relevance of boundary features, with regard to their primary role in the definition of multiple and contrasting community dynamics, should be first taken into account when planning land modification, local management actions and for conservation.