Tree heath
Erica arborea
Family · Ericaceae · Harmless
Aromatic
The heath that grows into a tree, with clouds of tiny white flowers in spring and a honey smell you catch metres away. Its root is the briar of luxury pipes.
Where it grows
Scrubland · Uplands · Pine woods · Oak woods
Also known asbriar, tree heather
In flower
How to tell it
Very fine needle leaves in whorls, and thousands of tiny white bells in clusters. It reaches three or four metres, which no other native heath does.
What it is confused with
Strawberry tree
Arbutus unedo
Same family, identical white bell flowers, same scrub. The leaf settles it: heath has fine needles, strawberry tree has broad glossy leaves.
Open sheet →What it is for
The woody root burl, hard and heat-resistant, is the raw material of briar pipes. The flowers yield a sought-after dark honey.