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Erica tetralix
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Erica
Species:	E. tetralix
Binomial name
	Erica tetralix; L.

Erica tetralix, the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe.

Description

It is a perennial subshrub with glandular leaves in whorls of four (whence the name). Appearing in summer and autumn, small pink bell-shaped flowers droop in compact clusters at the ends of the shoots.

Similar species

Related species E. cinerea has glabrous leaves in whorls of three. Calluna vulgaris has much smaller and scale-like leaves in opposite and decussate pairs.^[1]

Taxonomy

The sticky, adhesive glands on leaves, sepals and other parts of the plant prompted Charles Darwin to suggest that this species might be a protocarnivorous plant, but little, if any, research has been done on this.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

E. tetralix is native to western Europe from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe such as Austria and Switzerland. It has also been introduced to parts of North America.

E. tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora in bogs, wet heaths, and damp coniferous woodland.^[3]

Ecology

A species of Trialeurodes whitefly discovered in 1971 was named T. ericae for the plant, due to its frequent association with it.^[4]

Cultivation

In cultivation, like other heathers, E. tetralix requires an acidic soil, as it is a calcifuge. Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, of which E. tetralix f. alba 'Alba Mollis'^[5] (a white-flowered variety) and E. tetralix f. stellata 'Pink Star'^[6] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[7]

In Culture

It appears in the 1938 German marching song "Erika" by Herms Niel.

References

^ Clive Stace (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^ Darwin, Charles (1875). Insectivorous Plants. London: J. Murray.
^ "Distribution map (polar view)". Linne's Webbplatz. Swedish Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 2005-11-22.
^ Bink-Moenen, Rosita M. (1 February 1976). "A new whitefly of Erica tetralix: Trialeurodes ericae sp. n. (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae)". Entomologische Berichten. 36 (2). Amsterdam: 17.
^ "Erica tetralix f. alba 'Alba Mollis'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^ "Erica tetralix f. stellata 'Pink Star'". RHS. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 36. Retrieved 6 February 2018.