Erica arborea

Erica arborea Tree heath
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Erica
Species:	E. arborea
Binomial name
Erica arborea L.

Erica arborea (tree heath) is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family, Ericaceae. There are disjunct populations in Africa including the Ethiopian Highlands, the mountains of Ruwenzori and the Cameroon Mountains. In Africa it is normally referred to as giant heather. It is native to the maquis shrublands surrounding the Mediterranean Basin north to Bulgaria and west to Portugal and the Canary and Madeira Islands. Naturalised populations occur in south-eastern Australia.

The wood, known as briar root (French: bruyère), is extremely hard and heat-resistant, and is used for making smoking pipes.

Erica arborea is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree with a typical height in the wild of some 7 m (23 ft), especially in Africa, but more typically 1–4 m (3–13 ft) in gardens, bearing dark green needle-like leaves and numerous small honey-scented bell-shaped white flowers. It is a calcifuge, preferring acid soil in an open sunny situation.

Several cultivars and hybrids have been developed for garden use, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

Other tall growing heaths, including the Portugal Heath (Erica lusitanica) and channel heath (Erica canaliculata) may also sometimes be called tree heath.

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Wikipedia