Scientific name: Erica tetralix L.
Common name: Cross-leaved Heath
Description
Habit: A hairy, evergreen shrub, to 70 cm high.
Stems: Erect, woody, weak, thin, wiry and straggling.
Leaves: Narrow, needle-like, margins rolled back, 2-5 mm long, hairy, in whorls of 4; upper leaves erect and widely spaced.
Flowers: Pink, in terminal umbels, hermaphrodite; pedicels and sepals covered with conspicuous woolly hairs; 4 fused petals forming a tubular corolla, 6-9 mm long; stamens 8; ovary superior.
Fruits: A capsule.
Habitat: Bogs, acid marshes, wet healthy grassland.
Distribution: Abundant in suitable habitats but absent from most of the Burren.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No