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Evergreen List |
Heather Family [Ericaceae] |
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29th June 2004, Nr. Thornhill Carrs, Bamford, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
The early stages of the bunches of flowers, still growing. Top right shows them in a slightly more advanced stage of development curving downwards on short stalks, but they will grow larger and cluster in one direction. |
23rd June 2017, unknown place. | Photo: © Teresa Mitchell |
Before opening up the early stages of the flower are held bolt upright on the stem. |
23rd June 2017, unknown place. | Photo: © Teresa Mitchell |
As they mature a little further they hand their heads downwards but they are still not recognisably long-bell-shaped florets. |
2nd July 2003, top'o'moors, Crow Chin, Stanage Edge, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
They have properly matured here. |
2nd July 2003, top'o'moors, Crow Chin, Stanage Edge, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
It often has a hoary appearance due to many short hairs. |
29th June 2004, Nr. Thornhill Carrs, Bamford, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
This specimen is not as hoary as the others (maybe it is a hybrid??). |
2nd July 2003, top'o'moors, Crow Chin, Stanage Edge, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
2nd July 2003, top'o'moors, Crow Chin, Stanage Edge, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
29th June 2004, Nr. Thornhill Carrs, Bamford, Pk. Dist. | Photo: © RWD |
Here the young leaves (centre of photo) are flat and have not yet inrolled |
11th Sept 2005, Grammars Common, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The flowers are a longish 5 to 9mm long with an inflated appearance.
[Heather left; Cross-leaved Heather right] |
8th July 2015, Arne, Purbeck, Dorset | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Here there are 12 flowers in a tight cluster. The style in the centre will start to protrude slightly from the small opening with 4 very short recurved petals at the end. |
11th Sept 2005, Grammars Common, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The flowers are tightly clustered together all facing in much the same direction at an angle downwards. |
8th July 2015, Arne, Purbeck, Dorset | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The leaves are between 2 to 5mm long, have many short hairs and a few long glandular hairs. They are inrolled at the edges making them look thinner than what they really are. They also have a stalk extending only a sort way down the main stem, ending with a brown blob. The stems are similarly hairy giving a hoary appearance to the whole plant. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
A straggly shrub growing to 70cm high. It prefers wet heaths and moors, here next to shallow water. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
Those flower lower left are in their early stages of development, and appear red rather than pink. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers of those shoots on the left are in their early stages of development and look very fuzzy with hairs. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The leaves are short, in whorls of 4, angled upwards and are fairly well separated giving a good view of the stem, which has many short glandular hairs. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The tight bunch of pink flowers droops downwards, but when fruiting the flower bunch turns upwards and changes colour to orange. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The sepals at the rear of each flower are glandular hairy and out-rolled at the edges, giving a very messy appearance at the rear of the small tight cluster of flowers. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers go orange as they mature probably due to chemical changes of the pink pigment. The style protrudes slightly from the constricted opening with 4 short petals which are slightly reflexed. The stigma is discoidal. |
10th July 2009, near a tarn, Haystacks, Lake District. | Photo: © RWD |
The leaves are in whorls of four, inrolled at their margins and have short glandular hairs with pink-purple glands at their tips. |
Cross-leaved Heath is the next most common Heath/Heather to Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Bell Heather (Erica cinerea). It prefers a more moist location than those two and is to be found in wet heaths, moors and bogs, usually on upland acid areas. The flowers are a rose-pink, or orange when turning to fruit. The fruit capsules are hairy (none shown). Hybridizes with :
Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : The shape of the flowers, their one-sided compact clump only at the summit of a flower stalk, and the short incurved leaves which are in neat regular arrays of 4 up the stem, and their more greyish appearance from afar because of their (usually) many hairs. No relation to : Crosswort (Cruciata laevipes) [a bedstraw with a similar name].
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Erica | tetralix | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Ericaceae |
Erica (Heaths) |
Heather Family [Ericaceae] |