Erica vagans

Cornish heath
The Cornish heath (Erica vagans)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Erica
Species:	E. vagans
Binomial name
Erica vagans L.

The Cornish heath (Erica vagans) is a species of heath that bears pink flowers and mid-green foliage. This is a shrub, reaching 0.75 m by 0.75 m. Its English name comes from the fact that, in Great Britain, it is only found on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, where the unusual geology gives rise to the alkaline soils that it favours. It was voted the County flower of Cornwall in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.

Cornish heath

Cornish heath in close-up

See also

• Flowering plant