Species

Erica arborea

Etymology

Erica: From the Greek ereika 'heath' or 'heather'
arborea: From the Latin arbor 'tree', meaning tree-like

Common Name(s)

tree heath

Family

Ericaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

ERIARB

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial. Riverbanks and regenerating forest.

Features

Shrub or small tree to about 5 m. Shoots densely hairy. Leaves 3-7 mm long. Small white bell-shaped flowers in racemes along the stems. Seed capsule about 2 mm long, each containing many very small seeds.

Similar Taxa

Is very similar to E. lusitanica but can be easily distinguished by the hairy stems and much larger growth form.

Flowering

July, August, September, October, November, December,

Flower Colours

White

Year Naturalised

1935

Origin

Mediterranean region to highlands of E. Africa

Reason For Introduction
Ornamental

 


This page last updated on 5 May 2011