Cornish Heath on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Erica vagans'', the Cornish heath or wandering heath, is a
Cornish heath is an evergreen subshrub, growing to a height of . The small linear leaves with pale undersides and down-rolled margins grow in whorls of four or five on the wiry stems. The inflorescence is a fat, leafy spike with a few long-stalked, globular flowers; these are pink or lilac and have brown stamens that protrude from the open mouths. The flowering period is from July to September.
In Great Britain it is only found on the Lizard peninsula in southern Cornwall, where the unusual geology gives rise to the acid soils that it favours. It was voted the
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...
, native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to Ireland, Cornwall, western France and Spain. It is a vigorous, spreading, evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
heather reaching tall and wide, with pink flowers borne in raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s long in summer and autumn. The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''vagans'' literally means "wandering"; in this context it means "widely distributed".
Description
Cornish heath is an evergreen subshrub, growing to a height of . The small linear leaves with pale undersides and down-rolled margins grow in whorls of four or five on the wiry stems. The inflorescence is a fat, leafy spike with a few long-stalked, globular flowers; these are pink or lilac and have brown stamens that protrude from the open mouths. The flowering period is from July to September.
Cornish population
In Great Britain it is only found on the Lizard peninsula in southern Cornwall, where the unusual geology gives rise to the acid soils that it favours. It was voted the County flower
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
of Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife
Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...
. It is often considered the Cornish floral emblem
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...
. According to one story this is because when Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several t ...
first arrived in Cornwall looking for tin he had nowhere to stay, so he spent his first night on a bed of Cornish heather. In thankfulness, he blessed the plant and it has been a blessed plant ever since.
Cultivation
Like almost all plants in the heath family (Ericaceae), ''E. vagans'' requires an acidic or, at the very least, neutral soil to thrive. In areas with alkaline (basic) soil, this can be achieved by planting ''E. vagans'' in containers with ericaceous compost. Numerouscultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s have been developed with a range of flower colours in white, pink, mauve and purple.
AGM cultivars
The following cultivars have gained theRoyal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
:-
*''E. vagans'' ‘Mrs D.F. Maxwell’
*''E. vagans'' f. ''alba'' 'Cornish Cream' (white-flowered variety)
*''E. vagans'' f. ''alba'' 'Kevernensis Alba' (white-flowered variety)
*''E. vagans'' f. ''alba'' 'Lyonnesse'
*''E. vagans'' f. ''aureifolia'' 'Valerie Proudley' (gold-leaved variety)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1134318 Environment of Cornwall vagans Flora of England Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus