Ericaceae

“ The leaves are alternate, opposite or whorled in arrangement, and in their form and structure show well-marked adaptation for life in dry or exposed situations. Thus in the true heaths they are needle-like, with the margins often rolled back to form a groove or an almost closed chamber on the under side. In others such as Rhododendron or Arbutus they are often leathery and evergreen, the strongly cuticularized upper surface protecting a water-storing tissue situated above the green layers of the leaf. ”

“ Flores terminales, umbellati, nutantes. Pedunculi longissimi, colorati. Corolla sub-conica, atro-purpurea, ore arctata. Folia terna, acuta, patentia, glabra, carnosa, glauca. Caulis erectus, fragilis, bipedalis. Rami erecti, longi, sub-simplices.
DESCRIPTION.
Tips crested, within the blossom. Flowers terminate the branches in bunches, nodding. The footstalks are very long, and coloured. Blossom nearly conical, dark purple, and narrowed at the mouth. Leaves by threes, linear-pointed, and spreading, smooth, fleshy, and of a sea-green colour. Stem upright, brittle, two feet high. ”

“ The Erica physodes is a native of the Cape, and another of those species which have been introduced since the publication of the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton.
It is principally distinguished by the form, and delicate whiteness of its blossoms, which are so extremely viscid as to retain flies and other insects which settle on them.
Is scarcely to be increased by cuttings, more readily by seeds, which sometimes ripen here. ”

“ When the author first began to delineate the Erica family in the year 1794, the greater part of the species then known had been so recently imported, that the seeds did not ripen with us. A period of fifteen years having since elapsed, many of them have become so far naturalized as to perfect their seed freely. The prevalent idea of their not ripening with us is owing to a want of sufficient attention to preserve them ”

“ Some plants are entirely confined to one side of our planet. The beautiful genus Erica, or heath, of which there are upwards of 300 species, occurs with breaks over a narrow surface, extending from a high northern latitude to the Cape of Good Hope. ”

“ In growth it is luxuriant, as we have frequently seen it two feet high, with numerous long flowering branches, at Covent-Garden, amongst many of the most beautiful (if not most rare) Ericas, which are exclusively cultivated for that well-known emporium. It may certainly be considered as one of the finest variations of Erica Linnæa, and as such its hyperbolical specific title may serve to distinguish it from most of the varieties. ”

“ Flores plures, terminales, simpliciter verticillati, conferti, viscosi. Pedunculi longi, curvati. Corolla cylindrico-clavata, pollicaris, nitida, ima parte profunde carnea, apice viridi, ore arctata; laciniis rectis. Folia octona, linearia, obtusa, supra scabra, subtus sulcata, attenuata in petiolos longos capillares. Caulis fruticosus, erectus, tripedalis. ”