Erica curviflora also flowers this dull dark red. The widening of the curved corolla tubes and the slightly out-curved, rounded petal lobes at their tips are present, as are the narrow sepals holding the back ends of the tubes. The flowers are short-stalked.
The needle-like, green leaves ascend closer to the creamy tips of the young stems than lower down (Manning and Helme, 2024; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).