Photographs: Co.Galway © Charles Nelson

St. Dabeoc's Heath Daboecia cantabrica Fraoch na haon choise Family: Ericaceae Flowering time: May-October. Evergreen shrub. Native. Clusters of bell-shaped purple-pink flowers with 4 lobes and darker bracts. The alternate, dark green, pointed leaves are lanceolate-oblong with inrolled margins and are downy-white underneath. Stems are woody and straggling. Height to 60cm. Occurs in County Galway and Co. Mayo in thin, acidic soil on rocky heaths and moorland. A member of the Lusitanian Flora. Similar: Bell Heather, Erica cinerea has smaller flowers

St Dabeoc's Heath, Daboecia cantabrica, Fraoch na haon choise