522 ERICA 



E. MACKAYI, Hooker. MACKAY'S HEATH. 



By most authorities this heath is regarded as a variety of E. Tetralix. It 

 is about i ft. high, with its leaves in whorls of four, ovate-oblong, the margins 

 less recurved than in E. Tetralix, and thus apparently broader ; usually smooth 

 above. The flowers are in terminal umbels as in E. Tetralix ; the corolla of 

 a deeper rosy red, shorter and broader. Seed-vessel comparatively smooth 

 (it is always downy in E. Tetralix). The plant thus in some respects shows 

 a relationship with E. ciliaris, and may be a hybrid between these two. The 

 only home of this heath in the British Isles appears to be in Connemara, from 

 Clifden south to Roundstone Bay. Here it was discovered by Mr W. M'Calla 

 in 1833. It is also found in Asturias, N.W. Spain. A pretty dwarf heath, 

 useful for planting in broad patches as recommended for its allies. 



Var. FLORE PLENO (E. Crawfurdii). A double-flowered form found in 

 W. Galway. The urn-shaped corolla is rather wider at the mouth than in the 

 type, and encloses several small, closely packed petals which have replaced 

 the stamens. Superior to the single form in lasting longer in flower. 



E. STUARTII, Linton^ is regarded as a hybrid between E. Mackayi and 

 E. mediterranea. It was discovered in W. Galway in 1890, in association with 

 E. Mackayi. It leans more to that parent than to E. mediterranea. 



E. MEDITERRANEA, LinnCEUS. 



A shrub 6 to 10 ft. high, of dense bushy form ; branches erect and smooth. 

 Leaves linear, \ to \ in. long, dark green, produced in whorls of four. Flowers 

 borne singly or in pairs at each of the leaf-axils at the ends of the twigs of 

 the previous year, the buds being formed the previous summer. They make 

 dense leafy racemes i to 2 ins. long. Corolla cylindrical, in. long, of a rich 

 rosy red ; calyx-lobes narrow-oblong, rather more than half as long as the 

 corolla ; anthers dark red, exposed ; flower-stalk \ in. or less long. 



Var. ALBA. Flowers white ; plant not so large and robust as the type. 



Var. HIBERNICA (syn. glauca). A form found in W. Ireland, growing there 

 3 or 4 ft. high. It differs chiefly in the foliage being of a more glaucous hue, 

 and appears to be the same as the heath sold in nurseries as var. glauca. It 

 does not flower with such profusion as the type. 



Var. HYBRIDA (see E. darleyensis). 



Var. NANA. A dwarf plant forming a rounded tuft i to i^ ft. high ; not so 

 free- flowering as the type. 



Native of S. France, Spain, and of Co. Galway in Ireland, but not of the 

 Mediterranean region, in spite of its name. It is really of Biscayan origin ; 

 introduced, according to Alton, in 1648. Of the spring-flowering heaths it is 

 the finests and best for a climate like that of London. It is quite hardy at 

 Kew except in the severest of all winters, and planted there in large masses 

 provides a continuous feast of colour and fragrance from March to May. 

 Its fragrance is like that of honey. Of the several forms mentioned, the 

 typical one and var. alba are, in my experience, the best. 



E. MULTIFLORA, Linnaus. 



A low shrub, i to 2 ft. high; young shoots smooth. Leaves to J in. long, 

 linear, almost cylindrical, slightly downy at the base, arranged in fours or 

 fives. Flowers clustered in the leaf-axils as in E. vagans, forming an erect, 

 cylindrical, terminal raceme, 2 or 3 ins. long. Corolla pale rose, pitcher- 

 shaped, j^ in. long ; anthers oblong, protruding, each anther with its two 

 cells (loculi) separated only slightly at the top ; sepals lance-shaped, not quite 

 half as long as the corolla ; flower-stalk \ in. long, holding the flower clear 

 of the leaves. 



Native of S. Europe ; introduced in 1731. This heath is very rare in 



