Erica cubica L.

Erect, 1-1 1/2 ft. or more high; branches straight and subvirgate or spreading, subcorymbose and fastigiate, glabrous, pallid or dark, with more or less prominent, sometimes decurrent, leaf-cushions; leaves 4-nate or scattered (or sometimes apparently 3-nate), very variable in size and setting, from 2-5 lin. long, the shorter erect, crowded, imbricate, strongly incurved, the longer either straighter, erect and imbricate, or incurved and squarrose, all linear, acute, sulcate, glabrous; flowers terminal and axillary, densely umbellate at the ends of the branches, corolline; pedicels slender, floccose with minute distantly-branched or subplumose hairs, 2-9 lin. long; bracts 2 only (? always), remote, linear-spathulate, foliaceous, about 1 1/4-2 1/2 lin. long; sepals narrow-lanceolate, lanceolate, ovate, obovate or suborbicular, acute, acuminate, keeled or sometimes retuse with an excurrent keel-tip, occasionally by projection of the keel-angles, appearing tetragouous, the broader flattish, the smaller more concave, margins entire or lacerate, scarious, glabrous and glossy, pallid or deep coloured, 1-2 lin. long, reaching from 2/5-3/4 about the height of the corolla; corolla campanuloid or obconic or subfunnel-shaped, pale rosy or deep red, 1 1/2-3 1/4 lin. long; segments continuous, ovate or semiorbicular, mostly equal in length to the tube, but occasionally shorter or longer; filaments rather broad, tapering upwards, rigid, nerved; anthers included, oblong to semiovate, acute or acuminate, papillose or minutely hairy, 1/2-1 lin. long, muticous, or sometimes with minute pallid squarrose awns at the apex of the filament; pore about 2/5 the length of the cell, situate in the middle; style exserted, slender; stigma subsimple, small; ovary glabrous.