BRITISH WILD FLOAVERS. 
231 
2.— THE CORNISH HEATH. (Erica vaqans, Lin.) 
Synonymes. —E. multiflora, Hudson; E. didyma, Withering. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 3 ; 2nd ed., t. 559 ; and our Jig. 6, 
in PL 44. 
Specific Character. —Authors simple, deeply cloven, prominent as 
well as the style. Corolla hell-shaped. Leaves four in a whorl. 
Flowers on simple, crowded, axillary stalks. {Smith.) 
Description, &c. —This species, though extremely abuudant in Cornwall, is seldom, if ever, found in any 
other part of Great Britain, or, indeed, anywhere else except in the south of Europe, where it is very abundant. 
It is very different from most other heaths, the corolla being open ; but it is an ornamental little shrub, 
and frequently cultivated in gardens. The flowers expand in July and August, and though they are generally 
of a deep rose-colour, they are sometimes of a pale pink, and sometimes even white. 
THE FINE-LEA\ r ED HEATH. (E. cinerea, Lin.) 
This species is abundant on turfy heaths where the soil is dry. It is a straggling branching shrub, growing 
from a foot to eighteen inches high, and flowering from June till October. 
THE FRINGED.LEAVED HEATH. (E. ciliaris, Lin.) 
This plant has only been found in Britain, near Truro, in Cornwall, and it is probably not a true native. It 
is a dwarf shrub, and flowers in July and August. 
THE MEDITERRANEAN HEATH. (E. mediterranea, Lin.) 
This species was never supposed to be a native of the British Islands till it was found in September, 1830, 
in the bogs of Cunnemara, by Mr. Mackay ; and, strange to say, it was there in such quantities as to cover 
entirely a piece of ground, at least two acres in extent. 
GENUS VII. 
THE ARBUTUS. (Arbutus, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character.— Calyx small, five-parted. Corolla ovate, with a small five-cleft revolute limb. Stamens ten, villous at base; anthers 
with two pores at the tip. Berry granulated, five-celled, many-seeded. ( Lindley.) 
Description, &c. —The common strawberry tree is the only plant in this genus that is found wild in the 
British dominions, and it is only found in the rich and romantic scenery round the Lake of Killarney. The 
name of Arbutus is derived from two Celtic words, signifying a rough bush. Though the plant is now only 
found in Ireland, it would seem to have been formerly in the Highlands of Scotland, as it is the badge of the 
Highland clan Ross. The plant flowers in September and October, and it often has ripe fruit on at the same 
time, the berries remaining on the tree more than a year. The fruit is not good to eat; and, indeed, the specific 
name of Unedo , which is given to the plant, and which signifies once eaten, is said to allude to the fruit of the 
plant being so bad as, when once tasted, to give no desire to taste it a second time. 
