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Erica cinerea 'Atropurpurea'

(Purple Bell Heath)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Bell Heather, Grey Heath, Purple Bell Heath

Description

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Family Ericaceae

Plants usually woody, or herbs, sometimes lacking chlorophyll. Leaves spiral , sometimes decussate, margin often toothed . Inflorescence racemose; bracteoles paired , basal. Flowers (4 or) 5-merous. Calyx imbricate. Corolla connate , imbricate. Stamens 10, sometimes with spurs or awns , dehiscing by pores , pollen in tetrads , rarely single. Ovary superior or inferior, placentation axile , rarely parietal , often many ovules per locule. Style ± as long as corolla, slender. Fruit a capsule or berry, rarely a drupe; calyx persistent.

About 125 genera and 4000 species: widely distributed in temperate and subarctic regions, also at high elevations in tropical regions ; 22 genera and 826 species (524 endemic) in China.

The Monotropoideae are here included in the Ericaceae; previously in FRPS (56: 157 216. 1990), they were treated as the Pyrolaceae. Chiogenes, recorded from China in FRPS (57(3) : 69 71. 1991), is here included in Gaultheria. Over the last half century, the Empetraceae have usually been separated from, but closely associated with, the Ericaceae. In their ecology, leaf morphology and insertion , rusts, embryology, stamen anatomy, etc. , they largely agree with that family . Molecular data place Empetrum and its relatives firmly within the Ericaceae, and in particular within the subfamily Ericoideae, in agreement with phytochemical and palynological data, and there they are best recognized as a separate tribe . There are distinctive features of the Empetreae that were responsible for their past familial status, e.g. , reduced perianth with separate members , low ovule number, enlarged stigmas, etc. However, these are likely to be derived features associated with wind pollination. See Kron et al. (Bot. Rev. 68: 335 423. 2002) and the recent treatment of the Ericaceae by Stevens et al. (in Kubitzki, Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 6: 145 194. 2004) .

Several genera and many species are ornamentals . Some fruits of Vaccinium in N China are sweet and edible, but of no particular value to humans. Some species of Chamaedaphne, Craibiodendron, Leucothoë, Lyonia, Pieris, and Rhododendron contain more or less toxic diterpenes, which are harmful to humans or domestic animals.[1]

Physical Description

Habit: Mounding

Flowers: Bloom Period: June, July, August. • Flower Color: Purple • Flower Conspicuous: Clusters of bell shaped flowers

Foliage: In whorls, leaves are tightly curled back • Foliage Shape: Linear • Normal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Green • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Green • Fall foliage: Green • Winter foliage: Green

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Fast Growing • Size: Fast growing, spreading mound to 1 ft . high, 3 ft. wide.

Landscaping

Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. Feed with an acid fertilizer after bloom . Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 15-18" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 6.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun

Moisture: Water Requirements: Keep surface of soil moist, but not soggy.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 8 (>90 to 120 days) Low:3 (>7 to 14 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: High:8 (10 to 20 F) Low:6 (-10 to 0 F) (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

A tentatively accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Erica

There are approximately 1115 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

E. abbottii · E. abelii · E. abietina · E. abietina petraea · E. absinthoides · E. accommodata · E. acockii · E. acrophya · E. acuta · E. acutiflora · E. acutifolia · E. adaequata · E. adenophora · E. adenophylla · E. adenostoma · E. adjuvans · E. adnata · E. adunca · E. aemula · E. aequalis · E. aestiva · E. affinis · E. agglutinans · E. aggregata · E. aghillana · E. aitonia · E. aitoniana · E. aitonii · E. albens · E. albertyniae · E. albescens · E. albida · E. albospicata · E. alexandri · E. alfredii · E. algida · E. alnea · E. alopecias · E. alopecurus · E. alticola · E. altiphila · E. amabilis · E. amatolensis · E. amicorum · E. amoena · E. amphigena · E. ampullacea · E. ampullaeformis · E. andevalensis · E. andreaei · E. andrewsii · E. andringitrensis · E. andromedaeflora · E. andromediflora · E. aneimena · E. anemodes · E. anguliger · E. angulosa · E. annectens · E. anomala · E. anthura · E. aperta · E. approximata · E. arachnocalyx · E. aragonensis · E. arborea (Briar Root) · E. arborea subsp. riojana · E. arborescens · E. arbuscula · E. arbutiflora · E. archeria · E. archeriana · E. arctica · E. arcuata · E. ardens · E. arenaria · E. areolata · E. argentea · E. argentiflora · E. argutifolia · E. argyraea · E. aristata · E. aristifolia · E. armandiana · E. armata · E. artemisioides · E. articularis · E. articulata · E. aspalathifolia · E. aspalathoides · E. aspera · E. assurgens · E. astroites · E. atherstonei · E. atricha · E. atromontana · E. atropurpurea · E. atrovinosa · E. aurea · E. auricularis

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mingyuan Fang, Ruizheng Fang, Mingyou He, Linzheng Hu, Hanbi Yang, Haining Qin, Tianlu Min, David F. Chamberlain, Peter Stevens, Gary D. Wallace & Arne Anderberg "Ericaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 242. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-05-18