# 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.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/4820b44c-4df5-4197-8977-cf5c35afcad2
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/162431
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erica tetralix
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/62012114/medium.jpeg (Grzegorz Grzejszczak, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.