Erica sitiens

Erica sitiens is an erect shrub in the Orophanes section of the Erica genus, growing to heights around 80 cm.

The specific name, sitiens, is a Latin word meaning thirsty. The plant is sometimes commonly called the thirsty heath. This name refers to the fact that this plant does not grow in seepage areas. It probably isnt thirsty after all.

The flowers grow at the tips of side-shoots, solitary or in groups of up to four. The peduncles of only 2 mm have small bracts in the middle or near the base. The discoloured sepals are lance-shaped with tapering tips, up to 4 mm long and hairless.

The corolla is oblong to urn-shaped, asymmetrically inflated but this is variable. Flower colour is pink in various shades or occasionally white. The four corolla lobes are rounded, somewhat out-curving and sometimes white on plants bearing dark coloured tubes. The corolla becomes up to 8 cm long. The stamens and style are included, the ovary top-shaped.

Flowering happens from spring to midautumn.

The species distribution is in the southwest of the Western Cape, mainly near the southern coast.

The habitat is sandstone slopes in fynbos at elevations from 300 m to 1000 m; large stands may be seen. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Baker and Oliver, 1967; Andrew, 2017; http://redlist.sanbi.org).