THE HEATHS 219 



of our early-flowering plants bear flowers that are 

 either white or yellow, so that the rosy-red colouring 

 of this Erica makes a welcome change. However 

 freely it might be planted it would never become 

 wearisome or out of place, for its tints, though bright 

 and warm, are not harsh. Statements have been 

 recently published to the effect that E. carnea is a 

 British plant. This idea appears to have originated 

 with Bentham, the botanist, who regarded E. carnea 

 and E. mediterranea as the same species. Following 

 out this idea, he included the plant which has already 

 been alluded to as a form of E. mediterranea, which is 

 found in Western Ireland, in his Flora of Britain as a 

 form of E. carnea. Possibly he was right from the 

 standpoint of the botanist, but the plant grown in 

 gardens and nurseries as E. carnea is quite distinct 

 from E. mediterranea. It is usually not more than 

 6 to 8 inches high, and is a native of the mountains 

 of Central Europe. 



E. cinerea (Scotch Heather). — Over almost the 

 whole of these islands, from the Highlands of Scot- 

 land to the moors of Devon and Cornwall, this 

 Heath occurs more or less abundantly. During the 

 late summer and early autumn — it flowers from 

 July onwards — it covers miles of Exmoor with 

 bright - purple colouring, being usually associated 

 with one of the dwarf autumn-flowering Gorses 

 {^Ulex Gallii). In gardens it has produced several 

 forms, the two most brilliantly coloured being atro- 

 sanguinea and atro-purpurea, but all the forms of this 

 Heath are beautiful in colour, ranging from white 



