Erica rosacea subsp. rosacea flowers

The flowers of Erica rosacea subsp. rosacea grow in clusters of three at the tips of short side-branchlets, sometimes up to three clusters together. The short pedicels are hairy and reddish. There are hairless bracts near the calyces. A calyx has four lobes, overlapping on the sides, red or green in colour. These lobes are elliptic or ovate, about a quarter the length of the corolla.

The deep pink flowers are about 5 mm long, the corollas tubular to urn-shaped, ovoid or ellipsoid. The four hairless, shallowly rounded corolla lobes may curve in around the exerted stamens that end in dark brown anthers, spurred at the base. The corollas whiten with age, becoming papery.

This is one of the ericas that bears only four stamens per flower; most have eight. The globose to ellipsoid, superior ovary is slightly four-lobed with nectaries around its base. The style is exserted, the stigma obscure.

Flowering happens from late autumn to after midspring.

The globose, hard, slightly pitted fruit is indehiscent, meaning not splitting, about twice the size of the ovary (Manning and Helme, 2024; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://www.worldfloraonline.org).