Erica cinerea, the bell heather,
Description
It is a low, spreading
shrub growing to tall, with fine needle-like
leaves long arranged in whorls of three. The
are bell-shaped, purple (rarely white), long, produced in mid- to late summer. The flowers are dry, similar in texture to the
strawflower.
Etymology
The Latin specific epithet
cinerea means "ash coloured".
Distribution and habitat
E. cinerea is native to the west of Europe, where it is most abundant in Britain and Ireland, France, northern Spain and southern Norway. It also occurs in the Faroe Islands, Belgium, Germany, north-western Italy, and the Netherlands.
It mostly occurs on moors and heathland with relatively dry, acidic, nutrient poor soils. It occurs in coastal dune heath and dune slack and occasionally in woodland.
Ecology
The plant provides a great deal of
nectar for
pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative.
It is described as "of least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Cultivation
It is grown as an
ornamental plant, cultivated in a wider range of colors. It is drought-tolerant and grows well in full sun with well-drained soil. Like most heathers, it is a
calcifuge and dislikes alkaline soils (e.g. calcareous) which cause the symptoms of iron deficiency. Like other cultivated heathers, it is often seen as
groundcover among plantings of dwarf
pinophyta.
These cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
-
'C.D. Eason'
-
'Pink Ice'
-
'Stephen Davis'
-
'Velvet Night'
'Eden Valley' has lavender flowers shading to white at the base of the Petal and a Prostrate shrub. The original plant was found on Trink Hill, Cornwall, by Miss Gertrude Waterer.
Uses
Bell heather is a source of heather honey.
External links
