Botanical name

Erica imbricata

Family

Ericaceae

Common Name

Raasheide, Ker-ker, Salt and Pepper Heath
Erica imbricata

Description

Erect shrublet up to 60cm with floriferous branches. Leaves are crowded, short, woolly, in 3's; flowers are small, in groups of 3 at tips of branchlets, calycine (calyx enlarged and predominant over the corolla), white or pink with exserted brown anthers.

Latin: imbricatus = overlapping; referring to the predominant calyx overlapping the corolla.

Familiarly known as Ker-ker because of the sounds the plants make when brushed against.

Habitat

Dry coastal flats, hills and mountain slopes

Flower Date

June to December