Erica cinerea Bell Heather

A slender, somewhat straggling evergreen shrub with leaves produced in whorls of three. Bright purple flowers are produced in summer before those of Ling (Calluna vulgaris), with which it commonly grows in dwarf snrub heathland on acidic soils. It is a sub-oceanic species of the mild, western heathlands of Europe and in Britain it is largely a species of western and northern Britain, mostly absent from the Midlands and scarce in the east of England. It is widespread in Wales, except for parts of the border lands and it is an important component of the coastal Atlantic heath community on sea cliffs. It also occurs inland in many places, but it is relatively scarce in some upland areas (e.g. Bannau Brecheiniog). It has an interesting distribution in West Glamorgan where it is a common feature of the south Gower cliff flora and it is common in the upland heathlands of the Afan Valley, but it is rare in the South Wales Coalfield north of the Vale of Neath.

Native