Erica tetralix, the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe.

Erica tetralix
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Erica
Species:
E. tetralix
Binomial name
Erica tetralix

Description

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It is a perennial subshrub with glandular leaves in whorls of four (whence the name). Appearing in summer and autumn, small pink bell-shaped flowers droop in compact clusters at the ends of the shoots.

Similar species

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Related species E. cinerea has glabrous leaves in whorls of three. Calluna vulgaris has much smaller and scale-like leaves in opposite and decussate pairs.[1]

Taxonomy

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The sticky, adhesive glands on leaves, sepals and other parts of the plant prompted Charles Darwin to suggest that this species might be a protocarnivorous plant, but little, if any, research has been done on this.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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E. tetralix is native to western Europe from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe such as Austria and Switzerland. It has also been introduced to parts of North America.

E. tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora in bogs, wet heaths, and damp coniferous woodland.[3]

Ecology

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A species of Trialeurodes whitefly discovered in 1971 was named T. ericae for the plant, due to its frequent association with it.[4]

Cultivation

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In cultivation, like other heathers, E. tetralix requires an acidic soil, as it is a calcifuge. Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, of which E. tetralix f. alba 'Alba Mollis'[5] (a white-flowered variety) and E. tetralix f. stellata 'Pink Star'[6] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7]

In Culture

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It appears in the 1938 German marching song "Erika" by Herms Niel.

References

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  1. ^ Clive Stace (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Darwin, Charles (1875). Insectivorous Plants. London: J. Murray.
  3. ^ "Distribution map (polar view)". Linne's Webbplatz. Swedish Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 2005-11-22.
  4. ^ Bink-Moenen, Rosita M. (1 February 1976). "A new whitefly of Erica tetralix: Trialeurodes ericae sp. n. (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae)". Entomologische Berichten. 36 (2). Amsterdam: 17.
  5. ^ "Erica tetralix f. alba 'Alba Mollis'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Erica tetralix f. stellata 'Pink Star'". RHS. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  7. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 36. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
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