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Erica umbellata

Erica umbellata is perennial with bush-like body, usually small, of about tens of centimeters, although they can reach 1 meter tall in older plants (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Erica umbellata. A) Flowers. B) Joung plant. C) Older plant. (A ⛯, B ⛯, C ⛯).

Stem

The newest shoots show a brown-reddish color with many short trichomes. In older plants, the base of the stem is woody and thick, showing gray colors.

Leaf

The leaves are arranged in wolrst of three. Leaves are2 cm wide and 5 cm long. The are lanceolate but not wide. The margins curl down toward the lower surface (abaxial). That is why they are known as a revolute leaf. So extensively that just a portion of the lower surface is exposed. There are many trichomes and a few of long cilia (long and multicullular trichomes), which may be glandular.

Flower

The flower are arranged in terminal inflorescences of the umbella type, with 3 to 6 flowers, without basal bracteoles. Pedicel that support the flower is about 3 to 7 cm long. Each flower show 3 to 4 bracteoles joined to the sepals (calyx). Sepals are about 2 mm long, have an oblongate-lanceolate shape, show green color, and have cillium-type trichomes along with many other glandular trichomes on the margins. Petals join to form a jar- or ballot-like structure (urceolate) that is pinky or purple, sometimes white. Staments are about 2 mm long. The ovary lacks trychomes and exhibit a slender style up to 4 to 5 mm in length.

Fruit, seed

The fruit is a capsula of about 2 mm, having a pyramidal or rounded shape.

Seeds are about 0.5 mm in size, ovoid to ellipsoid in shape, with a non-smooth surface.

Root

Habitat, distribution

It thrives in lands with scarce vegetation, open fields that it shares with other heather species. It can also be found in spots with abundant bushes, in clear areas of forests, and in sandy ground near the shoreline. It prefers siliceous soils at altitudes ranging from 0 to 1500 m.

Erica umbellata inhabits the Iberian Peninsula and northeastern Africa.

Society

It is cultivated as ornamental plant. Planta cultivada como ornamental.

Phylogeny

Taxonomy (NBCI)(↗): Viridiplantae; Streptophyta; Streptophytina; Embryophyta; Tracheophyta; Euphyllophyta; Spermatophyta; Magnoliopsida; Mesangiospermae; eudicotyledons; Gunneridae; Pentapetalae; asterids; Ericales; Ericaceae; Ericoideae; Ericeae; Erica.

WFO (↗): Pteridobiotina; Angiosperms; Ericales; Ericaceae; Ericoideae; Erica.

BoldSytems(↗): Tracheophyta; Magnoliopsida; Ericales; Ericaceae; Ericoideae; Erica.

GBIF (↗): Tracheophyta; Magnoliopsida; Ericales; Ericaceae; Erica.

Royal Botanic Gardens. Plant of the World online (↗) : Plantae; Streptophyta; Equisetopsida; Magnoliidae; Ericales; Ericaceae; Erica.

Biliography

Vayer, E. 1993. Erica. Flora Ibérica. http://www.floraiberica.org (Consultada en Enero de 2026).