This plant tends to grow in the boggier areas of heathland or acid upland along with Erica cinerea, and Calluna vulgaris. You can recognise the difference between this and the other two apart from the leaves (cross leaved) as the flowers tend to be in prominent pink drooping clumps at the top of their stems.

E. tetralix can be found throughout Scotland, Wales and Ireland and most of the south west peninsula of England as well as the south coast but is less common in the south east and central midlands of England.

Cwm Idwal 7th July 2002

Added on January 25th 2005, updated 5th January 2009, updated 29th March 2010