Cross-leaved Heath
Erica tetralix
The sticky, glandular hairs on its sepals and leaves trap tiny insects, a defense mechanism that prevents crawling pests from reaching its flowers.
- Scientific name
- Erica tetralix
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ericales › Ericaceae › Erica
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Wet heaths, acid bogs, damp moorlands, and peaty soils.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (produces energy via photosynthesis, adapted to nutrient-poor soils).
- Range
- Western Europe, British Isles, Southern Scandinavia, Northern Spain
- Size
- 15 to 60 cm in height
- Lifespan
- 10-20 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Peatland drainage, commercial peat extraction, overgrazing, and eutrophication from agricultural runoff.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely observe and photograph this plant up close. Avoid stepping on fragile bog vegetation around it, and do not harvest wild specimens.
Erica tetralix , the cross-leaved heath , is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, 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. In bogs, wet heaths and damp coniferous woodland, E. tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora. It has also been introduced to parts of North America.
Photo: Grzegorz Grzejszczak, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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