Appearance
It is a low-growing, spreading subshrub reaching 10–25 cm tall, with evergreen needle-like leaves 4-8 mm long, borne in whorls of four. The flowers are produced in racemes in late winter to early spring, often starting to flower while the plant is still covered in snow; the individual flower is a slender bell-shape, 4-6 mm long, dark reddish-pink, rarely white.
Naming
The first published name for the species is ''Erica herbacea''; however, the name ''E. carnea'' is so widely used, and the earlier name so little used, that a formal proposal to conserve the name ''E. carnea'' over ''E. herbacea'' was accepted by the International Botanical Congress in 1999.
Uses
It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant for its winter flowering; over 100 cultivars have been selected for variation in flower and leaf colour. Unlike most species of ''Erica'', which are typically calcifuges, it tolerates mildly alkaline as well as acidic soils, making it easier to grow in many areas. Like other species within the genus ''Erica'' it is often seen as groundcover amongst plantings of dwarf conifers.References:
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