Erica vestita busy behind the leaves

This Erica vestita stem-tip depicts a lull in blooming, the breather before the next push. At the top there are many underdeveloped buds lacking length and floral colouring, still among the leaves. Closely below them there are dry, withered corollas from an earlier burst of energy.

On this plant the old flower remains are brown, not blackish as shown in other photos. Intermittent blooming in the same summer seems to be a feature of the plant’s phenology, probably a result of growing conditions, particularly rain in spaced showers.

Above the new buds the leaves may be concealing the beginnings of an elongating stem-tip starting yet another growth phase. Some of the abruptly pointed leaf tips are reddish here. The long, thin leaves have whitish backs. This is where the leaf margins curl back, or under, nearly covering the outside surfaces of the leaves. Hairiness probably causes the whiteness (Manning and Helme, 2024; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009; iNaturalist).