Erica cinerea is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of heath

Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

er, native to western and central Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. It is a low shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 growing to 15–60 cm (5.9–23.6 ) tall, with fine needle-like leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 4 – long arranged in whorls of three. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are bell-shaped, purple (rarely white), 4 – long, produced in mid to late summer.

Bell heather is also used as an ornamental plant, coming in a wider range of colors. The flowers are dry, similar in texture to the strawflower

Strawflower

The genus Helichrysum consists of an estimated 600 species, in the sunflower family . The type species is Helichrysum orientale. The name is derived from the Greek words helisso and chrysos ....

. As an ornamental plant, it is drought-tolerant and grows well in full sun with well-drained soil.

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