Cornish heath
Erica vagans
Family · Ericaceae · Harmless
The heath of the northwest and the Pyrenees, flowering late, in August and September, with pale pink or white flowers in long spikes and dark anthers protruding from the corolla.
Uplands · Scrubland · Oak woods
Also known aswandering heath
How to tell it
A low dense shrub to a metre. Needle leaves in whorls of four or five, dark green. Flowers shaped like a short broad bell, pale pink to white, gathered in long leafy spikes along the previous year's branches. The dark brown anthers protrude from the bell, which identifies it. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.
What it is confused with
Tree heath
Erica arborea
Tree heath is a two to seven metre tree with masses of white flowers in spring; this is a low shrub with pink flowers at the end of summer. Neither is dangerous.
What it is for
No food use
It is an important honey plant giving a dark strong honey. Heaths in general gave brooms, pipe bowls and firewood, and this is no exception.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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