''Erica reunionensis'' is a
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 ...
(angiosperms) in the heather 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 ...
). It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the island of
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
.
[
''Erica reunionensis'' is the dominant treeline species in the mountains of Réunion.][ Leuschner, Christoph (1996). "Timberline and Alpine Vegetation on the Tropical and Warm-Temperate Oceanic Islands of the World: Elevation, Structure and Floristics". ''Vegetatio'', Vol. 123, No. 2 (Apr., 1996), pp. 193-206. Accessed 11 August 2021. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20048667]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2923844
reunionensis
Endemic flora of Réunion