Erica arborea

Evergreen shrub of the heath family, the tree heath is one of the largest representatives of its genus in Europe and Africa. Its range is vast: Mediterranean basin, Canary Islands, eastern and Ethiopian Africa, where it can rise up to 3,500 meters in misty highland heaths. In Europe, it is characteristic of open scrublands and garrigues, dry to semi-moist siliceous slopes, often alongside rockroses, strawberry trees, and broom.

It can reach 2 to 4 meters, sometimes more, forming a large, highly branched shrub with reddish-brown woody stems. The foliage, evergreen, consists of small dark green linear leaves, whorled in groups of three or four, giving the branches a dense and finely textured appearance. In full bloom, the entire plant is covered with thousands of small, slightly fragrant white bells, grouped in tight terminal clusters that invade all the year's branches.

In its natural habitat, flowering extends from February to April depending on exposure and altitude. In cultivation under mild climates, it occurs from March to May.

The woody and gnarled rootstock of Erica arborea, known as briar, is the traditional raw material for quality pipes, due to its exceptional hardness and heat resistance. It requires an acidic to neutral, well-drained, poor soil, in full sun, and moderately withstands frost, down to about -10°C for well-established specimens.