Erica lusitanica Rudolphi
Spanish heath
Erect shrub to c. 2 m high, occasionally with a trunk > 15 cm diam. Shoots densely covered with short hairs, especially when young; hairs simple, of varying lengths. Lvs in whorls of 3-4, subsessile, (2)-3-7 mm long; margins revolute and contiguous, entirely concealing undersurface; apparent or false margin sometimes with sparse hairs giving a serrulate appearance, otherwise lf glabrous. Fls in lateral racemes; racemes usually densely arranged so appearing as a large terminal panicle. Pedicels c. 2 mm long, recurved. Bracteoles situated near base, < 1 mm long, ± linear, whitish, not reaching calyx. Calyx 1-1.5 mm long; lobes triangular-ovate, glabrous, white, 2-3× length of tube. Corolla 3-5 mm long, tubular-campanulate, white except for rose or pink flush outside in bud, glabrous; lobes very short, very broadly ovate, erect to spreading. Stamens included; anthers c. 1 mm long, dark maroon; awns whitish, echinate, 1/2-⅔ length of anther. Style slightly exserted; stigma obconic. Capsule c. 3 mm long, broad-ellipsoid, glabrous.
N.; S.: abundant and widespread in many parts from the Wangaroa area (N. Auckland) to Bluff (Southland), especially in areas with moderate to fairly high rainfall.
S.W. Europe 1926
Hillside pastures, scrub and grassland, also in open disturbed habitats such as old landslips, railway banks and roadsides, from near sea level to c. 1000 m.
FL Mar-Dec.
Spanish heath is a major weed in many areas. Also, it is often cultivated, sometimes as the very floriferous cv. 'Pyramidalis'. The related tree heath, E. arborea, has sometimes been mistaken for E. lusitanica in N.Z. (see under E. arborea); although similar, the combination of hair and stigma characters as given in the key separates them.
