''Daboecia'' , or St. Dabeoc's heath, is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

, containing two

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, closely related to the genus '' Erica''. They are native to cliffs and heathland in southern Atlantic Europe and the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

Description

They produce urn-shaped flowers in shades of white, pink and red. ''Daboecia'' differ from European ''Erica''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in having a substantially larger corolla. The leaves are always alternate in ''Daboecia'', never whorled. The generic name comes from the Irish Saint Dabheog.

Distribution

''Daboecia'' has an oceanic distribution in western Europe, including western Ireland, western France, northwestern Spain, northwestern mainland Portugal and the Central Group of the Azores. Like ''Erica'' and ''Calluna'' species, ''Daboecia'' are calcifuges, but will tolerate neutral soils and avoid peat.

Species

* '' Daboecia azorica'' Tutin & E. F. Warb. * ''Daboecia cantabrica'' (Huds.) K. Koch (Irish heath) Some botanists regard ''D. azorica'' as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''D. cantabrica'', which would render the genus monospecific.

Cultivation

The two species have been extensively cultivated and hybridised to produce a number of popular garden plants.

Cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

include selections from the hybrid between the two species, which is named ''Daboecia'' × ''scotica''. The following cultivars have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

(confirmed 2017): *''D. cantabrica'' 'Waley's Red' *''D. cantabrica'' subsp. ''scotica'' 'Silverwells' *''D. cantabrica'' subsp. ''scotica'' 'William Hicks'

References

* Oliver, E. G. H. (2000). Systematics of Ericeae. ''Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium'' 19. * Nelson, E. C. (1984). Dabeoc – a saint and his heather. ''Yearbook of the Heather Society'' 1984: 41–46. * Nelson, E. C. (2000). A history, mainly nomenclatural, of St Dabeoc's heath. ''Watsonia'' 23: 47–58.

External links

*
Heather Society
Ericaceae genera Ericoideae {{Ericaceae-stub