Family: Ericaceae Cross-leaved Heath     *     Erica tetralix Flowering time: June-August. Evergreen shrub Habitat: Acidic heaths, moorland and bogs. Twiggy, +/- erect branches with whorls of four narrow grey-green evergreen leaves, the margins rolled back. Terminal heads of drooping pink flowers with downy ovaries and woolly hairs on the lower side of the sepals. Similar: Dorset Heath, Erica ciliaris Foodplant for caterpillars of the Horse Chestnut moth

Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix
Studland and Holton Heath, Dorset. June 2006 and October 2012