There are 3 Types of Heather on The Western Isles
The purple or bell heather -- Erica cinerea, commences flowering in early June, it likes the dryer places and so grows on rocks or dry moorland. As suggested by its common name the flowers are bell shaped.
The second heather is the cross leaved Heath heather which also has bell shaped flowers. Slightly paler pink in colour, this heather prefers wetter places and grows around the wet moorland and bogs, you will see this heather growing alongside bog asphodel.
The last heather to flower, showing its flowerheads in July is the Ling heather which flowers on the heaths and the moors. This heather is at its best in late August when the hills are covered in it. It likes a slightly drier acidic ground than the other two heathers seen here in The Western Isles, the bell heather and the cross leaved heath heather.,
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Purple or Bell Heather |
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Cross Leaved Heath Heather |
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Ling Heather |
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This pretty subtly pale pink heather drooping flowers that are in compact clusters at the end of the shoots show their heads from around July here in the Western Isles. it is a lovely wildflower which has woolly hairs on the lower side of he sepals. It has whorls of grey green evergreen leaves. The flowers are bell shaped but have almost closed mouths.
Cross-leaved Heath is a heather that gets its name from the distinctive whorls of four leaves that occur along its stems.
The plant has erect twiggy branches and looks rather straggly. It can grow to a height of 60cm. This heather likes the acidic soils of the heaths and tends not to grow as bushy as the other two heathers we get here.
Known as Bog Heather
As this heather likes the wetter boggy places, it is sometimes referred to as "bog heather". Cross-leaved Heath is a type of heather that gets its name from the distinctive whorls of four leaves that occur along its stems.
Yellow Dye - Harris Tweed
This heather the Cross Leaved Heath Heather is the heather from which the yellow dye comes from that was used in the textile industry, particularly in the Harris Tweed that is produces here on the islands.
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