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HEATHER
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Heather, Calluna vulgaris, is an evergreen, branching SHRUB belonging to the HEATH family, Ericaceae. It is also called ling or Scotch heather. Found throughout Western Europe and in parts of northeastern North America and Siberia, heather is one of the primary plant species grown on the poor, acid, sandy soils typical of heaths.
They usually grow to a height of 1 m (3 ft), with small, narrow, whorled leaves. Although the corolla (ring of petals) is showy in true heaths, Erica, heathers have showy pink or, rarely, white sepals that overlap the corolla.
Heather is a food of the red grouse; both young shoots and seeds are eaten. Branches are made into brooms, the leaves furnish a flavor for beer or tea, the bark can be used for tanning, and the flowers yield abundant nectar for honey. Heather has also been used as bedding and as a thatch for temporary roofs on dwellings. Varieties of heather are widely cultivated in rock gardens.
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