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Ericaceae
Heather
Calluna vulgaris
Solitude, protection, admiration, good luck.
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Genus
- Calluna
- Native to
- Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa
- Bloom season
- Late Summer, Fall
- Type
- evergreen low shrub
- Height
- 20–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Acidic, well-drained, sandy
- Water
- Low; drought tolerant
- Hardiness
- 4–6
- Lifespan
- Perennial
Did you know
- Heather covers vast moorlands across Scotland, England, and Scandinavia — the iconic purple landscape of the Scottish Highlands in late summer.
- Honey made from heather flowers is famously thick, dark, and aromatic, with a near-jelly consistency unique among honeys.
- White heather is considered exceptionally lucky in Scottish tradition — Queen Victoria popularized the belief.
- Heather has been used to make ale since the Bronze Age, predating hops by thousands of years.
- A single heather plant can live for 40 years or more in undisturbed moorland.