Shrub to 1m tall, branches erect or decumbent; leaves in whorls of 4 or 5, linear, to 10mm long; flowers in umbels on condensed lateral shoots, numerous umbels forming a spike; calyx unequally 4-lobed; corolla bell- or cup-shaped, to 5mm long, in various shades of lavender, mauve or pink, very rarely white; stamens 8, emergent; anthers without spurs; nectar produced.
Blooms in summer and early autumn.
Cornish heath occurs wild in Britain only on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. It also ranges though western France, into the Pyrenees, and northern Spain. There is an enigmatic colony of white-flowered plants in Northern Ireland. It can be successfully grown on any soil rich in magnesium and responds well to hard pruning. It is suitable for zone 5 provided the dead flowers, which are an attractive russet in winter, are kept on the plant.
Rather dirty white flowers, VIII–X, with dark anthers; mid-green foliage.
Grown at Woburn before 1825; listed by Conrad Loddiges (Hackney, London) as early as 1826, and later by J. Smith (Monkwood Grove, near Ayr, Scotland) in 1830. Plants under this name probably represent more than one clone, and they would be better listed as Erica vagans f. alba.
Named from the latin albus = white; after the flower colour.
Correct name ‘Nana‘
White flowers, VII–IX; mid-green foliage; spreading habit; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm.
Wild-collected; found in northern Spain by M. Zwijnenburg (Boskoop, Netherlands) in 1975; introduced by P. G. Zwijnenburg in 1983.
Derivation not known.
Deep bright rose-pink (H7) flowers, VIII–XI; dark green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Outstanding. Blooms two weeks later than others of similar colour.
Seedling; found by W. E. Th. Ingwersen (Birch Farm Nursery, Gravetye, East Grinstead, Sussex, England) by 1960; found in a row of ‘St Keverne‘ with ‘Mrs D. F. Maxwell‘ in the next row.
Named after W. Ingwersen’s nursery.
Shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–IX; mid-green foliage; vigorous bushy habit; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. A nineteenth-century selection.
Listed by J. Smith (Monkwood Grove, near Ayr, Scotland); later with Maxwell & Beale (1925)
Named from carneus = flesh-coloured.
Error for ‘Cream‘
Pink flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage; slow-growing ; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
Introduced by 1934.
Named after F. J. Chittenden (1873-1950), former editor of the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Director of the Society’s Gardens, Wisley, Surrey.
Off-white flowers, VIII–XI, in long spikes; bright green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. Outstanding.
Wild-collected; found on Goonhilly Downs, the Lizard, Cornwall, England; introduced by Treseder & Sons (Truro, Cornwall) by 1966.
Named after the county where it was found, and the flower colour.
Flowers off-white; VIII-XI; foliage gold in summer, turning lime-green; habit compact;
Sport on ‘Cornish Cream‘ found by Mr Watson of Callender Propagators, Scotland, in 1995; named and introduced by him.
Name alludes to the parent cultivar and to the foliage colour.
Off-white flowers, VIII–XI, with red-brown anthers; mid-green foliage; vigorous; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. Very dense flower-spike with about 8 flowers/branch.
Introduced by James Smith and Sons (Darley Dale, Derbyshire, England) before 1925.
Named from the colour of the flowers.
Deep rose-pink (H7) flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 31–45cm. Outstanding.
Found by Murray Hornibrook (best-known for his books about dwarf and slow-growing conifers); introduced in Britain by 1946.
Named after the daughter of Murray Hornibrook.
White flowers, IX–XI; bright gold foliage throughout the year; slow-growing; height 10–15cm; spread 31–45cm. Similar to ‘Valerie Proudley‘.
Seedling; found about 1984 by H. H. Lunn at Crail Nurseries (Newstead Abbey Park, Linby, Nottinghamshire, England); introduced by Crail Nurseries in 1987.
Named after the finder’s wife, Diana M. Lunn.
Deep cerise (H6) flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Outstanding.
Seedling; found at Fiddlestone Lodge, Burton in the Wirral, Cheshire, England, by J. E. B. (Edward) Plummer before 1959; named by Mr Plummer and introduced by Liverpool University Botanic Gardens, Ness, Cheshire.
Named after the finder’s house in the Wirral, Cheshire.
Off-white flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 16–20cm; spread 46–60cm. One of the better white-flowered Cornish heaths but nothing is known of its origin.
Introduced by 1967.
Name is an allusion to the flower colour.
Pink (H8) flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 46–60cm. Attractive plant.
Possible seedling; introduced by G. Underwood & Son (Hookstone Green Nursery, West End, Woking, Surrey, England) before 1960.
Named after George Underwood (d. 1960), proprietor of Hookstone Green Nursery
White flowers,with bright yellow anthers fading to pale tan after anthesis, VIII–X; mid-green foliage, young shoots with bright golden tips in spring; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
A sport from ‘Lyonesse‘; found by Alan W. Newsham in 1982 at Twin Acre Nursery (Knutsford, Cheshire, England).
Name alludes to the foliage colour.
Pale shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–X, in long cylindrical spikes; mid-green foliage; open habit, very vigorous; height 46–60cm; spread 61–75cm.
Listed as early as 1867 by James Smith (Darley Dale, Derbyshire, England) as E. multiflora grandiflora.
Named from Latin grandiflorus = large-flowered.
Flowers light pink (lavender pink); VIII-IX; foliage fairly dark green; very vigorous, erect, to 25cm across.
Selected chance seeding; found on Highway One in Fort Bragg, California, USA. Registered on 5 December 2003 by Homer C. Ferguson.
Named from the locality where it was found.
Pale shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 46–60cm.
Introduced by, Holden Clough Nursery (Bolton-by-Bowland, Lancashire, England) before 1964.
Named after Holden Clough Nursery.
Deep pink (H8) flowers, VII–X, very abundant; dark green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. Flower colour is deeper than ‘St Keverne’ but paler than ‘Mrs D. F. Maxwell’.
Chance seedling, most likely from ‘Mrs. D.F. Maxwell’; found by G. Underwood at Hookstone Green Nursery (West End, Woking, Surrey, England); introduced by Underwood Bros, about 1946.
Named after the Underwoods’ nursery, and the flower colour.
Correct name ‘Hookstone Rose‘
Deep lilac flowers, VII–XI, blooms for a long time; mid-green foliage; vigorous; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
Seedling; found by Mrs Britten at Newstead Abbey Park, Nottingham, England, in 1971; introduced by 1973.
Named after the finder.
Deep shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm.
Introduced by Messrs R. V. Roger Ltd (Pickering, Yorkshire, England) by 1973.
Named after a nursery foreman at R. V. Roger Ltd., Pickering, North Yorkshire.
Flowers white to lilac (H4) with red /crimson petal edges turning brown; foliage green; habit upright, large,self-branching.
Chance seeding; raised by M. Nicholson; found in a tray of seedlings set from capsules from ‘Mrs D. F. Maxwell‘; the other parent was possibly ‘Lyonesse‘. Outgrew the other 50 seedlings and was covered in flowers; bloomed for first time in September 2000.
Named after Mrs Nicholson (her maiden name). Registered on 1 February 2001 by Mr M. Nicholson.
Deep rose-pink (H7) flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage. Deliberately bred seedling raised by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany).
Selected and introduced by Forest Edge Nurseries.
Named by Miss Samantha Cordwell.
® E.2007.02 registered 10 January 2007 by David Edge, Forest Edge Nurseries, Woodlands, Wimborne, Dorset.
White flowers, VIII–X, in a compact spike; bright green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 31–45cm. The russet-coloured dead flowers low down on the spike are not so noticeable as in other white-blossomed Cornish heaths.
Wild-collected; found by P. D. Williams (St Keverne, Cornwall) on The Lizard, Cornwall, England; introduced by 1927.
Named from St Keverne, Cornwall; albus = white.
Off-white flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; open erect habit; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
Listed by Wallace in 1914.
Named from Greek; leuco- = white; anthos = flower.
Lilac (H4) flowers, VII–IX, early to come into bloom, free-flowering; mid-green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 46–60cm.
Introduced by 1964.
Named after the Latin lilacinus = lilac.
White flowers, VIII–X with pale brown anthers; bright green foliage; height 21–25cm; spread 46–60cm.
Wild-collected; found by Mr & Mrs Maxwell in 1923 while on their honeymoon, collected on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England; introduced by Maxwell & Beale (Broadstone, Dorset) in 1925.
Named after the mythical land said to lie beneath the sea off the Cornish coast.
Deep shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–IX; mid-green foliage; height 31–45cm; spread 46–60cm.
Wild-collected; found on The Lizard, Cornwall, England, by Miss M. B. G. Waterer (Eden Valley, Ludgvan, Cornwall) about 1917; introduced by Slieve Donard Nursery (Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland) about 1934.
Named after the finder, Martha Betha Gertrude Waterer (1822-1974; Yearbook of The Heather Society 3 (3): 46-53 (1985)).
Deep rose-pink (H6/H7)flowers, VIII–X; dark green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 31–45cm. Outstanding.
Wild-collected; found by Mr and Mrs D. F. Maxwell, while on honeymoon in 1923, ‘not many miles from Helston’ on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England; introduced by Maxwell & Beale (Broadstone, Dorset) in 1925.
Named after Mrs Maxwell. Douglas Fyfe Maxwell married Esther Caroline De C. Eastlake at Langport, Somerset, in 1923. D. F. Maxwell was born in 1892 (see free bmd); died in 1963.
Pale rose-pink (H7) flowers, VII–IX; mid-green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. One of the earliest Cornish heaths to bloom.
Introduced by Wallace by 1931.
Derivation unknown.
White flowers, VIII–X, with chocolate-brown anthers; mid-green foliage, each leaf having a yellow tip; very compact; height 10–15cm; spread 46–60cm. Not the best white Cornish heath
Introduced by 1879.
Named from nanus = dwarf.
Lilac (H4) flowers, loose in habit, VII–X; bright green foliage; vigorous; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Comes into bloom early.
Plants under this name were cultivated as early as 1825; the present clone is unlikely to be the same as the one known to Sinclair.
Named from Latin pallidus = pale.
Pale pink (H8) flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. Very attractive.
Found and introduced by Treseders Nursery (Truro, Cornwall, England) by 1966.
Name is presumably an allusion to the flower colour.
Deep pink (H8) flowers, VIII–X, fading to white; dark green foliage; forms a compact spreading dome; height 16–20cm; spread 46–60cm.. In dry summers this does not perform well, producing fewer flowers; it also has a rather untidy appearance.
Introduced by G. Underwood & Son (Hookstone Green Nursery, West End, Woking, Surrey, England) in 1936; the origin of this cultivar is not known.
Name presumed to have been acquired because it came from The Pyrenees.
Flowers rose-pink (H7); VII-X; foliage: mid green; habit spreading; height 30cm; spread 50cm after 3 years pruned. The flower colour resembled ‘Birch Glow’ but the flowers are bigger.
Seedling raised by Kurt Kramer in 2003 from an unnamed seedling pollinated by ‘Birch Glow’; selected in 2011.
® E.2012:02 registered on 19 February 2012 by K. Kramer, Edewecht-Süddorf, Germany.
Pure pink flowers, VIII–IX; mid-green foliage; vigorous upright habit; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm.
Perhaps introduced by G. Underwood & Son (Hookstone Green Nursery, West End, Woking, Surrey, England); in commerce by 1949.
Named from roseus = rose-pink.
Lilac-pink (H11) flowers, VIII–X, in long spikes; mid-green foliage; vigorous open habit; height 31–45cm; spread 61–75cm. (‘Grandiflora’ is sometimes grown under this name.)
Listed by Sinclair in 1825 as Erica vagans var. rubra, and by J. Smith (Monkwood Grove, near Ayr, Scotland) by 1830. Whether any clone so named now is the same as Sinclair’s or Smith’s is doubtful.
Named from Latin ruber = red.
Clear pink (H8) flowers, VIII–XI; dark green foliage; height 16–20cm; spread 31–45cm.
Wild-collected; found near the village of St Keverne on The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England, by P. D. Williams in 1909.
Named after the village where it was found.
Shell-pink (H16) flowers, VIII–X; mid-green foliage; neat compact habit; height 10–15cm; spread 31–45cm. Recommended.
Introduced by Slieve Donard Nursery (Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland) by 1966, but it is not listed in any of the catalogues issued by the Slieve Donard Nursery (cf E. C. Nelson & E. Deane, ‘Glory of Donard’ 1993).
Derivation not known. The name is one word, not two.
White flowers, IX–XI, sparse; dull golden foliage, with bright yellow young shoots in spring, turning bright green in winter; height 10–15cm; spread 26–30cm. Subject to windburn particularly in winter and spring and may revert to dull green foliage.
Sport on a normal plant with white flowers (E. vagans f. alba); found at Aldenham Heather Nursery (Watford, Hertfordshire, England) by Brian W. Proudley in 1965; introduced by Aldenham Heather Nursery in 1968.
Named after the raiser’s wife.
White flowers, VIII–X, abundant; dark green foliage; compact habit; height 21–25cm; spread 31–45cm.
Seedling; found by S. Dawson in 1970 in his garden at Wakefield (Yorkshire, England).
Named after the finder’s daughter.
Flowers usually replaced by green feathery shoots, very rarely with pale pink (H8) flowers;VIII–X; mid-green foliage; height 26–30cm; spread 46–60cm. An intriguing, attractive curiosity, suitable for flower-arranging.
Wild-collected; found by P. D. Williams (St. Keverne, Cornwall, England) about 1909.
Named from viridi- = green; flos = flower.
Very long racemes of white flowers; VIII-X; foliage mid green; habit vigorous requiring pruning to avoid straggly plant; height 50cm; spread 85cm.
Wild-collected; found on Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall, England, by J. N. Anderson (Broadhurst Nursery, Grampound, near Truro, Cornwall) in the autumn of 1981; introduced by Broadhurst Nursery. The flowering stems were 16 inches long.
Named for the length of the racemes of flowers.
White flowers, VIII–X, with attractive golden anthers; mid-green foliage; height 16–20cm; spread 46–60cm.
Found by C. Benson (Farington, Preston, Lancashire, England); introduced by C. Benson by 1977.
Name alludes to the flower colour.
White flowers, VIII–X; bright green foliage; vigorous with an open habit unless well trimmed; height 46–60cm; spread 75–100cm.
Wild-collected; found on Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall, England; introduced by Treseder & Son (Truro, Cornwall) in 1965.
Name alludes to the flower colour, and habit.
White flowers, VIII–X; bright green foliage; vigorous; height 46–60cm; spread 61–75cm.
Introduced by 1985, perhaps by Neil Treseder (Truro, Cornwall, England).
Name alludes to the flower colour, and habit.
Lilac flowers (H4), VIII–X; bright yellow foliage, acquiring a pink tinge with age; vigorous; height 31–45cm; spread 31–45cm. More vigorous than’Valerie Proudley‘ and is thought to be more hardy.
Found by J. B. A. Dekker (Mijdrecht, Netherlands) in 1982; introduced by P. G. Zwijnenburg (Boskoop, Netherlands) in 1986.
Named after Jan Dekker, the finder and alluding to the foliage colour.
