Erica quadrangularis

Erica quadrangularis, commonly called baby heath or florists' heath, scientifically earlier E. minutissima and partly also E. cyathiformis, is an erect, often compact and rounded shrublet that grows to 60 cm in height. It grows single-stemmed, does not resprout after fire.

The species forms part of the Orophanes section of the Erica genus, positioned in the Euerica subgenus of true heaths according to Baker and Oliver's classification. Manning and Helme have it as the type species of their Florists' Heaths grouping, characterised by cup-shaped flowers of 2,5 to 4 mm long in fours at stem-tips, needle-like or scale-like sepals and leaves in whorls of four.

The plant is distributed from Clanwilliam and the Cederberg to Hottentots Holland and through parts of the Little Karoo like the Anysberg to the Outeniqua Mountains and Knysna. 

The habitat is seasonally damp, fynbos slopes, sandy flats and stream banks, often represented by large fynbos colonies. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning and Helme, 2024; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Baker and Oliver, 1967; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).