Erica alopecurus flowers

Erica alopecurus is classified in a group of ericas characterised by terminal, mostly umbel-like flowers with inflated tube-like corollas. The erect, green stem tips carry long inflorescences with many pink, sometimes very pale flowers in a compact, erect cluster.

The flowers are crowded in threes on tiny branchlets, forming flowering cylinders. The inflorescence is not really a spike because individual flowers have peduncles, or stalks, albeit very short ones. The sepals are small and inconspicuous, hairy, even bristly and tapering to acute tips. The corolla of about 3 mm in length has a narrow mouth with very short lobes. The anthers on hair-like filaments and the curved style are inside the corolla, not visible beyond the mouth. The ovary is oval and hairy.

The blooming lasts from autumn to mid-spring. This photo was taken in May (Baker and Oliver, 1967).