''Erica ventricosa'' is a species of plant in the family
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 to the
Afrotropics
The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...
.
Etymology
The scientific name of this species is derived from the Latin word ''ventricosus'', which means swollen or inflated. Its common names are
Franschhoek
Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Formerly known as Oliphants hoek (as there were vast groups of e ...
heath, porcelain heath, Italian heather, giant heather and wax heath.
Distribution
It naturally occurs on mountain slopes in the
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
and
area of the
Hottentots-Holland
The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast.
The range is primarily composed of Ta ...
range, when the elevation is higher than 300 m above sea level.
Habitat
Population groups of these plants are normally found in well-drained acid soils with a
pH between 5.5 and 6.5.
Ecology
The
corolla in ''Erica ventricosa'' has an
ovoid-urceolate form and is 12 mm to 16 mm in length, with a constriction at the throat.
[Baker, Hugh Arthur and Oliver, E. G. H. ''Ericas in Southern Africa''. Purnell & Sons, Cape Town, 1967, p. 55.] This form is no accident, as there are specialist flies with a long
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
that are adapted to pollinate it.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5387960
ventricosa