''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. It is also cultivated as an

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

. The wood, known as briar root (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: bruyère, Catalan: bruc, Portuguese: betouro, Spanish: brezo), is extremely hard and heat-resistant, and is used for making smoking pipes. Leaf fossils attributed to this species were described for the Mio-Pleistocene deposit of São Jorge in Madeira Island.

Description

''Erica arborea'' is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree with a typical height in the wild of some , especially in Africa, but more typically in gardens. It bears dark green needle-like leaves and numerous small honey-scented bell-shaped white flowers. It is a calcifuge, preferring acid soil in an open sunny situation.

Distribution

There are disjunct populations in Africa including the Ethiopian Highlands, the mountains of Ruwenzori and the Cameroon Mountains. In Africa it is normally referred to as giant heather. It is native to the

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...

s surrounding the

north to Bulgaria and west to Portugal and the Canary and Madeira Islands. Naturalised populations occur in south-eastern Australia.

Cultivars

Several

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

and hybrids have been developed for garden use, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society'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. arborea'' 'Estrella Gold' (gold-tipped leaves) *''E. arborea''

var. In botanical nomenclature, variety (abbreviated var.; in la, varietas) is a taxonomic rank below that of species and subspecies, but above that of form. As such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name. It is sometimes recommended that the ...

''alpina'' *''E. arborea'' var. ''alpina'' f. aureifolia 'Albert's Gold' (gold-leaved) *''E.'' × ''veitchii'' 'Gold Tips' (''E. arborea'' × ''E. lusitanica'') Other tall growing heaths, including the Portugal Heath (''

Erica lusitanica ''Erica lusitanica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, known by the common names Portuguese heath and Spanish heath. It is native to Portugal, Spain and southwestern France. It is named for Lusitania, a historical region en ...

'') and channel heath (''

Erica canaliculata ''Erica canaliculata'', the channelled heath or hairy grey heather, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. The species is native to the East and West Capes of South Africa and naturalised in South Australia. It is an erect ever ...

'') may also sometimes be called tree heath.

Uses

The wood, known as ''briar root'', is extremely hard, dense and heat-resistant, and is primarily used for making smoking pipes, as it does not affect the aroma of tobacco. The football-sized tubers are harvested at the age of 30 to 60 years. They are cooked for several hours, then dried for several months before they are further processed. The wood is also used for making jewellery, fountain pens and knife handles.

References

External links