Calluna vulgaris
Heather, Ling, Common Ling, Fraoch Mór, Common Heather, Ling Heather, Red-heath, Scotch Heather, Scots Heather, Scottish heather, Autumn Heather, Red Heather, Summer Heather, Fraoch, Ling (plant)
Description
An evergreen herbaceous plant, very similar to heather, about 40 cm tall.
It thrives in the undergrowth and in damp, peaty areas in the lowlands, on hills and in the mountains. It is also known as ‘brugo’, from which the name ‘heathland’ derives in natural and wooded areas.
It differs from heather in its flowering period and the morphology of its flowers. It flowers from August to November, with different colours depending on the variety and its natural habitat; it has small flowers arranged in spikes with a tetramerous calyx (divided into four parts) that covers the corolla. It has very small, scaly leaves, arranged oppositely along the stem.
It forms dense, strikingly coloured clumps. It spreads extensively via its root system, forming veritable carpets.
This plant thrives in full sun, partial shade or the dappled light of the undergrowth. It prefers acidic, moist soils.
It is suitable for creating low flowering groundcover, in rockeries and for formal flowerbeds. It requires no pruning or special maintenance. It also grows well in pots, but requires frequent fertilizing and watering in well-drained, peaty soil.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Magnoliophyta
- Class
- Angiospermae
- Order
- Ericales
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Genus
- Calluna
- Species
- Calluna vulgaris
