Calluna vulgaris

Subshrubby perennial of the Ericaceae family, one of the most widespread plants in Western Europe. In France, it is omnipresent both in the sandy and acidic Atlantic lowland moors and in the high-altitude moors of the Pyrenees, where it rises up to 2,000 meters and beyond, colonizing acidic slopes, windy ridges, and edges of beech forests.

It forms dense bushy clumps of 30 to 60 cm, with branches finely adorned with tiny persistent imbricated leaves, of a medium to dark green.

The small pale pink bell-shaped flowers are arranged in dense spikes along the branches, creating a very homogeneous floral mass effect. This discreet hue is the one uniformly encountered in nature, from lowland moors to Pyrenean ridges.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from August to October depending on altitude. A major honey plant for bees at the end of the season, it requires acidic, poor, and well-drained soil, in full sun. It does not tolerate limestone and is perfectly hardy in our climates.