Photographs: Inchigeela, Co. Cork

Bell Heather Erica cinerea Fraoch cloigíneach Family: Ericaceae Flowering time: June-September. Evergreen. Native. Short spikes of bright red-purple (occasionally white) flowers with narrow hairless sepals. Dark green stalked leaves grow in whorls of 3, the leaf margins rolled back and hiding the lower surface. Tufts of leaves in axils. Erect, straggly growth. Height: 45-60cm Acidic heaths and moorland. Abundant except in central Ireland. Related: Irish Heath, E. erigena. Taller (to 150cm) and only found on bogs and wet heaths in Galway and Mayo. Part of Lusitanian Flora.

Bell Heather, Erica cinerea, Fraoch cloigíneach