Erica abietina

Erica abietina, in Afrikaans commonly known as rooiklossieheide (little red tassel heath), is an erect, red-flowering shrub reaching heights from 50 cm to 1,5 m. The plant is variable in several features, comprising seven different, recognised subspecies. The specific name, abietina, is derived from the Latin word abies meaning fir tree, referring to the plant's leafy appearance.

The leaves grow in whorls of four to six. They are slightly sticky, linear to needle-like, mostly veering away from the erect stems in picture, while curving up lower down or only at their tips. Only in one case are the leaves appressed to the stem in a section near a tip. Yellow-green at most stem-tips here, the leaves may also be bright green or dark green as they age on the pale grey lower stems.

The solitary flowers in picture radiate outwards near a stem-tip, apart from the cylindrical buds that are nearly erect. Pinkish red styles protrude from some open flowers, ending in dark stigmas. Flowering happens throughout the year.

The species is distributed in the southwest of the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula to Tulbagh in the north and Riversdale in the east.

The habitat is fynbos in seeps, middle sandstone slopes and plateaus that may be dry. The habitat populations of three of the seven subspecies are considered of least concern early in the twenty first century, the others deemed rare, vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered respectively (Manning and Helme, 2024; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).