Madeira heath
Erica platycodon
Family · Ericaceae · Harmless
The heath that forms Madeira's high-altitude heathland above the laurisilva, with white flowers in a broad open bell, larger than any other Portuguese heath's.
Where it grows
Uplands · Scrubland · Oak woods
Also known asMadeiran tree heath
In flower
How to tell it
A shrub or tree to six metres, with needle leaves in whorls of four. The flowers are the mark, and the scientific name says why: the bell is broad and open, almost a cup, white or cream, not narrow as in other heaths. Range: endemic to Madeira, with a subspecies in the Azores.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
It gave the brooms and the stakes of Madeiran terraces for centuries, and it is the wood of the traditional fences along the levadas. No food use.