Erica coccinea subsp. coccinea bare stems

Old, lower Erica coccinea subsp. coccinea stems are bare, grey and wiry to woody, still vitally important for carrying the leaves and later the flower growth above them.

The leafy stem cylinders above are erect and green, covered in regular geometric patterns of leaves, the tips of short shoots growing sideways from the bigger ones. There is also a geometric pattern in the dense appearance of the short shoots growing in spirals.

Some of the leaves grow faster than the majority, the only nonregular part of the leaf growth on show (Manning and Helme, 2024; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).