Erica scoparia, the green heather[1] or Common Besom Heath,[2] is a shrubby European species of heath in the flowering plant family Ericaceae.

Erica scoparia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Erica
Species:
E. scoparia
Binomial name
Erica scoparia

Description

edit

Erica scoparia is a perennial evergreen shrub with small yellowish white to red-brown bell-shaped drooping flowers borne in clusters at the ends of its shoots.[3]

Distribution and habitat

edit

It is native to the western Mediterranean Basin in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), Northwest Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia), Southern France, Italy, Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Corsica.[4]

It is found in a range of Mediterranean habitats, including semi-arid locations. Its distribution seems to largely depend on water availability (being considered hygrophytic) and dissolved aluminum in the soil. It is quite consistent under varied levels of shade.[5][6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Erica scoparia (green heather)". Invasive Species Compendium. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Common Besom Heath (Erica scoparia)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  3. ^ FloreAlpes: Erica scoparia
  4. ^ "Erica scoparia L." Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  5. ^ Ojeda, Fernando; Arroyo, Juan; Marañón, Teodoro (2000). "Ecological Distribution of Four Co-Occurring Mediterranean Heath Species". Ecography. 23 (1): 148–159. ISSN 0906-7590.
  6. ^ Antunes, Cristina; Díaz Barradas, Mari Cruz; Zunzunegui, Maria; Vieira, Simone; Pereira, Ângela; Anjos, Andreia; Correia, Otília; Pereira, Maria João; Máguas, Cristina (23 March 2018). Llorens, Laura (ed.). "Contrasting plant water‐use responses to groundwater depth in coastal dune ecosystems". Functional Ecology. 32 (8): 1931–1943. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13110. ISSN 0269-8463.
edit

  Media related to Erica scoparia at Wikimedia Commons


  NODES
Note 1