2002

ISSN 0440-5757

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Registered charity No 261407

Affiliated societies
Nederlandse Heidervereniging ‘Ericultura’
Gesellschaft der Heidefreunde
North American Heather Society

President
Mr D. J. Small.

Vice-Presidents

Mr A. Hall Mrs P. B. Lee
Mr D. B. Oliver

COUNCIL 2001-2002

Chairman

Mr A. J. Stow
Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer
Mrs J. Julian Mr A. Princep
Mr R. Canovan Mr A. R. Collins
Mrs D. Everett Mrs D. H. Jones JP.
Mr P. L. Joyner Mr D. J. T. Mayne
Mr D. E. Millis Dr E. C. Nelson
Dr R. Nichols Mr D. H. E. Rope

Mr. B. Sellers

© The authors & The Heather Society

The Heather Society and the editors take no responsibility for the views expressed by
authors in papers and notes published in this Yearbook.

FRONT COVER: David McClintock at his desk taken through the window of his library at
Bracken Hill by Pamela Lee.

Yearbook

of
The Heather Society

2002

in memoriam
David McClintock

Editor
Dr E. Charles Nelson

Assistant Editor
B. Sellers
ISSN 0440-5757

The Heather Society
c/o Denbeigh, All Saints Road, Creeting St Mary, IPSWICH, Suffolk, IP6 8P]

A rare picture of David McClintock looking directly at the camera as he invariably looked at
the ground when a picture was being taken. This picture was taken during the 20th anniverary
celebrations of Gesellschaft der Heidefreunde, the German Heather Society in 1997.

[Photo by D. J. Small]

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 1-4.

David McClintock

No-one personified The Heather Society more than David McClintock. He
was nominated as a Vice-president in 1968, acted as Registrar for
almost a quarter of a century (1970-1994), fulfilled the distinguished role of
President for more than a decade from September 1989 to September
2001, contributed regularly to Yearbooks and Bulletins,, and yet those are merely
the public aspects of his tireless work in the cause of heathers, their science
and their cultivation.

His contribution to the vitality of this Society during the entire
span of its existence is immeasurable, making the task of providing
an adequate tribute virtually impossible.

As Major-General P. G. Turpin noted when he introduced him as the
Society’s fourth President in the 1990 Yearbook, David McClintock’s
knowledge of the European heathers and their cultivars was
unrivalled, and surely he is still the only person, as he himself
records in this Yearbook (pp 15—16), who has seen and collected every species
and virtually all subspecies of Andromeda, Bruckenthalia, Calluna,
Daboecia and Erica, native or naturalised in the northern hemisphere.
He garnered vast amounts of information about heathers, making a card
index of names that was of vital significance for the International
register of heather names, and his herbarium contains thousands of
annotated specimens of heathers of all ranks.

It is ironic that such a vital member was not at the Society’s
inaugural meeting which was held at the Royal Horticultural Society,
Vincent Square, London, on 20 February 1963. In fact, as Daphne
Everett recorded in 1988, David ‘did not hear of the meeting until
Sir John [Charrington] came into his office immediately after it had
taken place!’ although he and Sir John had discussed the formation of
a society to stimulate interest in heathers.

David’s enthusiasm for flowering plants hardly knew any bounds, and
while heathers are our preoccupation and were one of his, he was also
a considerable authority on cultivated hardy bamboos and on the
native flora of the Channel Islands especially Guernsey. One of his
finest publications was Pocket guide to wild flowers (1956),
which he wrote with Richard Fitter who characterised his co-author’s
knowledge of the flora of these islands as ‘magisterial and encyclopaedic’.
David’s vast knowledge is also very evident in his Com panion to flowers (1966),

2

where anecdote after anecdote tumbles from the pages, where plants, their
biology, history and associations are explained in his characteristic, succinct
prose. Companion to flowers demonstrates another aspect of his plantsmanship
— David did not disregard cultivated plants for to him they were as important
and, when studied, as informative as the wild ones.

In heathers, this lack of separation was paramount for a man who was
constantly on the look out for new morsels of information. He knew
the wild plants and the cultivated plants — he has seen and
studied the veritable species in their native haunts and he had also
grown and tested the cultivars in his own garden at Platt in Kent. If
there was any gap in his grasp of heathers it was regarding the
”“Capes” for he had not much interest in the southern hemisphere
species, wisely, perhaps, leaving those difficult plants to experts
who could more easily study them in the wild. In the quest to study
the hardy species and their variation patterns he often persuaded members
of The Heather Society to accompany him on trips abroad, and he or
his companions would report the expeditions’ results in Yearbooks and
Bulletins. We recall the three-week journey through Spain, to see the
newly-described Erica andevalensis in the Rio Odiel valley, and to
investigate reports of white-flowered E. mackaiana in northern
Spain. We succeeded, introducing the former into cultivation, and
bringing back the remarkable white-blossomed cultivar of Mackay’s
heath named ‘Shining Light’. The recently registered E. arborea
‘Spanish Lime’ (p. 74) is another product of that trip when, eagle-eyed as
always, David would spot white-flowered or golden-foliaged plants in
untrodden places. Among the best of his discoveries are E. erigena
‘Irish Dusk’ and ‘Irish Salmon’, and E. x stuartii ‘Irish Lemon’ and
‘Irish Orange’, gathered during several of his many trips to Ireland,
the land of his antecedents. The splendid cultivar of the Dorset
heath that bears his name was collected on a family holiday at Carnac in
Brittany - the original of E. ciliaris ‘David McClintock’ was
‘inextricably mixed up with a dwarf gorse bush’ but cuttings were
taken and Aldenham Heather Nurseries introduced it in 1968.

Thus David was often instrumental in the introduction, selection and
naming of new cultivars of heathers, although the actual list of
those that he himself produced is modest (p. 13). Not only did he bring
plants in from the wild, and from gardens where they were accidental
seedlings or sports, but he keenly promoted the production of
artificial hybrids, and was to give botanical names (p. 14) to all those produced

By
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Fig. 1. Erica ciliaris ‘David McClintock' (from Heathers in colour, Brian & Valerie Proudley).

during the last few decades that have proved garden-worthy.

The vast number of heather cultivars provided a challenge to a
person like David who had a “tidy mind” — how should they be
classified. In a paper presented to the first international symposium on the
taxonomy of cultivated plants, held in Wageningen during August 1985, he
urged a harmonisation of the classification of wild and cultivated plants.
‘Ideally all cultivars should come under some grade of botanical classification,’
he argued. He wanted to see greater precision in classification and in
understanding cultivars. To this end, he published names for yellow- or golden-
foliaged forma in many species, as well as white-flowered ones, as well as for
a miscellany of others such as the “starry” forma of E. tetralix.

David McClintock was neither a botanist nor a horticulturist by
training, yet he was greatly respected in British and European
botanical and horticultural circles, often providing a vital bridge
between these two “communities”. He also had the facility to make
complicated matters easily accessible to the interested non-
specialist. One of his most important publications was A guide to
the naming of plants, which The Heather Society published in 1969 and

4

in a revised edition in 1980, a thoughtful, precise explanation of
how plants, especially hardy heathers, got their names and the rules
applying to both the Latin, botanical names and the “fancy” cultivar
names. It was widely read and used in teaching horticultural
students, for example at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin,
Dublin in the 1980s and early 1990s.

We all will have our particular memories of David McClintock: a stub
of a pencil always in his jacket pocket ready to scribble a note in
his pocket-book; impatient of loud noises; single-minded and
seemingly inexhaustible in the hunt for a plant; meticulous in
collecting and recording; generous in sharing information and plants. He was
a punctilious correspondent, even if his rapidly typed letters
sometimes seemed to have been written entirely in abbreviations, and
annotated in his almost indecipherable, hieroglyphic handwriting;
even the address on the recycled envelope was reduced to the minimum,
presumably to ensure he could answer all his letters quickly.

A proper assessment of David McClintock’s contribution to botanical
and horticultural knowledge requires many more pages and many more
words. It is pleasing to record that in the New Year's Honours List for 2002,
David was awarded the MBE for his outstanding work in botany and
horticulture.

This issue of the Yearbook, the contents of which have been
substantially modified because of his death, is The Heather Society’s
formal tribute to him. We cannot do more than provide a brief epitome
of his life and work. He was one of the Society’s founding members
and maintained until his death, unexpectedly from a heart attack, a
very vital influence in its affairs. One of his last actions while President was to
promote The Heather Society Award of Honour presented in August 2000 to
Kurt Kramer. It is on record in the minutes of the Society’s Council that David
himself was to have been granted the Award of Honour in 2001 but his
failing health and finally his death mean that the honour was never
bestowed. He richly deserved this accolade, not just for his
long-garnered knowledge but also for his guidance of this Society through
four decades.

E. C. Nelson and D. J. Small

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 5-7.
David Charles McClintock MBE, VMH, VMM (1913-2001)

Pamela Lee
Vice-President of The Heather Society.

David McClintock, distinguished botanist, horticulturist and writer, died
suddenly at his home, Bracken Hill, on Friday 23 November 2001, aged 88.

David's standing was very high among both professional and amateur
colleagues in the botanical as well as the horticultural worlds. As we know, he
specialised in heathers, and yet was also an authority on bamboos; he held
the NCCPG national collection of Sasa in his garden. The Royal Horticultural
Society presented him in 1981 with The Gold Veitch Memorial Medal and in
1996 with it most prestigious award, The Victoria Medal of Honour, for services
over many years. The RHS also found him to be a valued Chairman of the
Scientific Committee and called on him 66 times to deputise as Chairman of
the Publications Committee. He fulfilled all these tasks with wisdom and
impartiality. At various times he was president of five societies including The
Heather Society, The Botanical Society of the British Isles and The Wild Flower
Society. He was appointed vice-president of several others, notably the
International Dendrology Society, and The Linnean Society which presented him
with The H. H. Bloomer Award in 1993. He served on the council of The National
Trust and was made a Membre d’honneur of the Société Guernesiaise.

His writings were published in 90 different periodicals, and he wrote, or
contributed to, no fewer than 36 books relating to wild flowers. He was
co-author, with Richard Fitter, of the first comprehensive fully illustrated book
on British plants: The pocket guide to wild flowers (1956) remains, even today,
the favourite handbook of many botanists. He was instrumental in the
founding of the periodical The plantsman (continued as The new plantsman),
and The European garden flora.

David's memory was legendary and he had instant recall. Once learned,
he never forgot the name of a person or of a plant. He worked tirelessly for
nearly 70 years to promote an awareness of British wild flowers, teaching
from personal experience in the field how to recognize and value them as an
integral part of the fast diminishing countryside. In a tribute written half a
century ago we read: “A day’s botanising with David is a most exciting
experience: so strenuous that some special training is advisable! His keenness
is infectious, his manners perfect and his kindness is known to all.” David
had a wide-ranging knowledge and love of natural history which he
disseminated with great enthusiasm.

In the 1950s David was largely instrumental in organising, with the gracious
permission of Her Majesty The Queen, the first survey of the natural history
of the garden at Buckingham Palace. In addition to recording the flora, he
brought together a group of naturalists distinguished in various other spheres
to complete a comprehensive survey. It was published in 1964 and became a
valuable source of information and reference for the increasingly important
study of urban wildlife. Recently he has spent a considerable amount of time
working with a similar team, on the revision of these records, to identify the
changes that had taken place since the Clean Air Act took effect. The new
publication, issued a few days after his death, covers all aspects of the varied
wildlife of the garden and owes much to his foresight and dedication over
many years. He has also researched the fascinating history of the garden and
assisted the Head Gardener in the identification and recording of the many
rare trees and plants growing there.

David Charles McClintock was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 4 July 1913,
the son of an Irish clergyman. His mother was one of the Buxtons of Easneye,
at Ware in Hertfordshire. David’s interest in wild flowers started when, as a
teenager, he was asked to teach three of his young sisters how to recognise
them. He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. The war
years were spent in the army, initially with HQ54 Division. He was then posted
to the Intelligence Training Centre and finally to BAOR. He left the army with
the rank of lieutenant-colonel and joined the Coal Utilisation Council as their
Chief Accountant and Administrative Officer. Leaving this organisation in
1973 shortly before it closed down, he turned full-time to his hobbies, to writing
and to broadcasting on horticultural and botanical matters.

Not everyone agreed with his strong views but no one doubted his ability.
He was a linguist and frequently reviewed books (more than 2,750) in German,
Dutch and French, as well as English, and conversed in these languages with
other botanists and plantsmen. David had a huge mail daily and generally
responded to each letter on the day it arrived. Often specimens would be
enclosed for identification or comment which might then require some research
and follow-up correspondence. He maintained an extensive herbarium of
heathers, bamboos, wild flowers and garden plants (which he has bequeathed
to the RHS Gardens, Wisley), and gradually built up an impressive library of
more than 5,000 books on his specialist subjects. He was meticulous in ensuring
the accuracy of every text he wrote, but he never quite mastered the typewriter!
His scripts were inevitably liberally decorated with corrections. But he

7

persevered, as he knew that very few people could decipher his hand-writing!
Another idiosyncrasy was his refusal to use new envelopes: he consistently
re-cycled all those that came to him.

David's height and distinctive head of white hair made him easy to spot in
a crowd. He would attend the monthly shows at the RHS Halls, renewing his
many acquaintances and was a regular visitor to Chelsea and Wisley. He
frequently visited The Natural History Museum, the Linnean Society, and the
Lindley Library, verifying every last detail that he might still require to
complete a paper.

Having no time for television, David relaxed with classical music on the
radio and enjoyed going to live chamber music concerts. He disliked politics
and advertising of any kind. David and Anne were gracious hosts and loved
entertaining, whether a single friend or relative or large groups of people, in
particular members of the specialist societies with which he was involved. He
was a kindly, wise counsellor and good friend to many. He gave unstintingly
of his knowledge and was constantly busy helping a large number of
individuals, as well as many eminent societies.

During his lifetime, David visited hundreds of gardens, both public
and private, but he was never happier than when in his own, which he was
able to enjoy more as he reduced his commitments in his latter years.

David was blessed with good health throughout his life until the last year,
when he began to experience great fatigue. He had always driven himself
hard and rarely took holidays, unless they were related to botanical excursions
or meetings. He travelled extensively in Europe by car visiting like-minded
people and every year over a 50-year period he flew to Guernsey, constantly
updating the botanical records there. He researched and published the flora
of the island in 1975 and later added a supplement. His determination to see
unusual plants growing in their natural habitat led him to join a few friends
in Sicily as recently as April 1999. In order to get a good look at Erica sicula on
Monte Cofano, it was necessary to scramble onto a slippery scree. While
viewing the heather through binoculars, he lost his balance, fell backwards,
and rolled down the steep slope for over 50 metres and lay unconscious. The
rescue involved a difficult descent on a stretcher to the waiting ambulance
and finally by helicopter to Palermo hospital. He suffered from shock, multiple
bruises and abrasions but no bones were broken. The trauma kept him in
intensive care for two days and he had 40 stitches in his head. He spent a
further eight days in hospital before making a complete recovery.

In 1940 he married Anne Dawson, who died in 1993. He is survived by
two sons, two daughters, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 8-14.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES REFERRING TO HEATHERS,
PUBLISHED BY DAviID MCCLINTOCK

David was a prolific author, and a comprehensive catalogue of his publications, including book reviews
(more than 2700) and countless unsigned notes, would occupy many pages. In this bibliography, compiled
with the assistance of Ron Cleevely and Mike Walpole, those works in which he concentrated on heathers
(representatives of Andromeda, Bruckenthalia, Calluna, Daboecia and Erica (including Cape species) are
listed, as far as they can be traced in the principal publications of this society and its “sister” societies in
Germany, The Netherlands and North America. Undoubtedly there are omissions, and for those we apologise.

David also contributed to almost every issue of Yearbook a list of ‘Recent writings on heathers’; those
lists comprise an invaluable source of information about heathers, each reference usually accompanied by
one of David’s pithy comments (e.g. “On Erica cinerea, with a ghastly picture of ‘Velvet Night’”; “A masterly
survey with numerous references to European heathers”).

1. 1956. [with FITTER, R. S., and ROSE, F.] The pocket guide to wild flowers. London: Collins. Pp xii, 340.
2. 1957 Supplement to the pocket guide to wild flowers. Platt, Kent: David McClintock.
3. 1964. Notes on British heaths 1. Species of heather in Britain. Yearbook 1 (2): 4-9.
4. 1965. Notes on British heaths 2. Hybrids in Britain. Yearbook 1 (3): 9-17.
5. 1966. Companion to flowers. London: G. Bell & Sons. Pp 253.
6. 1966. Notes on British heaths 3. Variation. Yearbook 1 (4): 32-43.
7. 1966. Double-flowered hardy heaths. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 91 (10): 438-443.
8. 1966. Erica tetralix, E. x praegeri and E. mackaiana. Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles 6: 276.
9. 1966. The Irish ‘heathers’. Gardeners chronicle 160 (14 September): 12.
10. 1967. Notes on British heaths 4. Genera other than Calluna and Erica. Yearbook 1 (5): 30-32.
11. 1967. Heaths rare and common. Wildlife July): 22-23.
Note: p. 23 as amended in September issue.
12. 1967. White heathers and their allies. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 92 (8): 347-353.
13. 1968. Erica “mediterranea/hibernica”. Bulletin 1 (3): 2.
14. 1968. Are heathers self-fertile? Bulletin 1 (4): 3.
15. 1968. Self-fertility of heathers. Bulletin 1 (5): 3.
16. 1968. What being a heather registration authority means. Bulletin 1 (5): 3.
17. 1968. Further notes on Erica ciliaris in Ireland. Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles 7 (2): 177.
18. 1969. Other heathery plants. Yearbook 1 (6): 33-38.
19. 1969. Daboecia azorica and its hybrids with D. cantabrica. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 94 (10): 449-453.
20. 1969. A guide to the naming of plants with special reference to heathers. Horley, Surrey: Heather Society.
Pp il, iv, 38, [1].
Notes: second edition, 1980 (no. 72).
21. 1969. Some notes on Erica “mediterranea”. Irish naturalists’ journal 16 (6): 154-158.
22. 1969. [with BRICKELL, C. D.] Erica ‘Wishanger Pink’. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 94 (3): 136-137.
23. 1970. A brief bibliography of heathers. Yearbook 1 (7): 7-14.
24. 1970. [with ROSE, F. R.] Cornish heath in Ireland. Irish naturalists’ journal 16 (12): 387-390.
25. 1970. White-flowered Daboecia cantabrica. Irish naturalists’ journal 16 (12): 391-392.
26. 1970. [Reply to] Erica mediterranea ‘Superba’. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 95 (5): 231.
27.1970. Anomenclature misery [Erica mediterranea]. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 95 (5): 231-232.
28. 1970. Die Heather Society. Gartenwelt 70 (23): 548.
29. 1970. Why is white heather lucky? Country life 15 January: 159.
Note: reprinted in Heather news 17 (4): 11-12 (1996), and in Bulletin 5 (7): 10-11 (1996) .
30. 1971. Some aspects of hardy heathers. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 96 (9): 418-426; figs 178-186.
31. 1971. Recent developments in the knowledge of European Ericas. Botanische Jahrbticher 90 (4): 509-523.
32. 1971. Daboecia cantabrica “Praegerae”. Irish naturalists’ journal 17: 24.
33. 1971. Personal names used for our hardy heathers. Yearbook 1 (8): 25-29.
34. 1972. Personal names used for our hardy heathers (2). Yearbook 2 (1): 33-36.
35. 1972. The common ground of wild and cultivated plants. Watsonia 9: 73-79.
Note: also published in Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 97: 354-361.

36.

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42.
43.
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1973. The wild heathers of Ireland, pp 24-35 in Report of the recorders’ conference, Dublin, September 1972.
Dublin: BSBI Irish Regional Committee.

1973. [with SCANNELL, M. J. P.] Double-flowered forms of Erica mackaiana. Watsonia 9 (4): 432.

1973. Gazetteer of heather names — part 1. Yearbook 2 (2): 42-44.

1974. Gazetteer of heather names — part 2. Yearbook 2 (3): 35-37.

1974. [with SCANNELL, M. J. P.] Erica mackaiana Bab. in Irish localities and other plants of interest.
Trish naturalists’ journal 18: 81-85.

1974. The Cornish hybrid heath Erica x williamsti Druce. Proceedings of the Lizard Field Club 5 (2): 3-5.

1974. Anti-clipping. Bulletin 2 (1): 5-6.

1975. Daboecia ‘Jack Drake’. Yearbook 2 (4): 15-16.

1975. Gazetteer of heather names part 3. Yearbook 2 (4): 42-44.

1975. Visit to the Low Countries. Bulletin 2 (6): 7.

1976. Additional personal and geographical names for hardy heathers. Yearbook 2 (5): 54-57.

1976. Heather registration. Bulletin 2 (9): 3.

1976. Some aberrant heathers. Watsonia 11: 180.

1977. The double-flowered heathers. Yearbook 2 (6): 25-27, 29-32, 34-37.

1977. Translations of heather books. Bulletin 2 (10): 4.

1977. ‘Irish Salmon’ and ‘Irish Dusk’. Bulletin 2 (12): 4.

1977. Sir John Charrington. The Times 28 July.

1977. The Heather Society. The garden 102 (10): 411-412.

1977. [with PERRING, F. H. and RANDALL, R. E.] Picking wild flowers: a fully illustrated description of
those it 1s safe to collect. Norwich: Jarrold. Unpaged.

55. 1978. Foreword, pp 9-10 in LAAR, H. van de, The heather garden, design, management, propagation, cultivars.

56.

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London: Collins. Pp 160.
Notes: Translated by P. Rowe-Dutton, and “adapted” by David McClintock, from the original Dutch edition,
Het heidetuinboek, 1974.

1978. Other heather names, pp 30-36 in YATES, G., Pocket guide to heather gardening. Ambleside:
Tabramhill Gardens.
Note: re-issued in 1983: Greenford, Middlesex: Aura Books. Revised in 1985 (see no. 103).

1978. St Dabeoc’s Heaths and their hybrids. The garden 103 (3): 114-116.

1978 [with BROUGH, P. R.] Heathers with parts in fives or sixes. Watsonia 12: 156-157.

1978. On the naming of heathers. Yearbook 2 (7): 26-29.

1978. Dendroflora. Bulletin 2 (14): 4.

1979. Calluna ‘Darleyensis’ and Erica scoparia ‘Minima’ please. Yearbook 2 (8): 27-30.

1979. Personal and place names used for hardy heathers. Second Supplement. Yearbook 2 (8): 55-60.

1979. The status of, and the correct name for Erica ‘Stuartii’. Watsonia 12 (3): 249-252.
Notes: see also Watsonia 13 (1): 59 (no. 71 below). This paper was translated into German, and published
as Der Status von und der Korrekte Name fur Erica ‘Stuartii’. Der Heidegarten 6: 37-43.

1979. The chromosomes numbers of heathers. The plantsman 1 (1): 63-64.

1979. Mini trials. Bulletin 2 (16): 2; — 2 (17): 2.

1979. Sports, reversions &c. Bulletin 2 (18): 6-7.

1980. Bell heathers with split corollas. The plantsman 2: 182-191.

1980. Calluna ‘Elegantissima Walter Ingwersen’. Yearbook 2 (9): 43-45.

1980. Erica sicula. Yearbook 2 (9): 45-55.

1980. The typification of Erica ciliaris L. and of E. tetralix L. and of their hybrid E x watsonii Bentham.
Botanical journal of the Linnean Society 80: 207-211.

1980. Erica x stuarti E. F. Linton — a correction. Watsonia 13: 59.

1980. A guide to the naming of plants with special reference to heathers. Second edition. Leicester: The
Heather Society. Pp [iil, iv, 37, [1].
Note: original edition 1969 (see no. 20 above).

1980. Bell heathers with split corollas. The plantsman 2 (3): 182-191.

1980. A day in my heather garden. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 105 (5): 191-195.

1980. Seedlings. Bulletin 2 (19): 6.

1980. Erica cinerea ‘C. G. Best’ (cultivar worth looking into). Bulletin 3 (1): 7.

1980. Erica carnea en niet E. herbacea. Ericultura 38: 17-18.

1981. The bell heather in Madeira. Yearbook 2 (10): 48-51.

10

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1981. Personal and place names used for hardy heathers. Second supplement. Yearbook 2 (10): 73-74.

1981. Beautifying the line. The countryman Spring 1981: 153-154.

1982. The stories of some Irish heather cultivars. Moorea 1: 37-40.

1982. Dorset or ciliated heath. BSBI news 30: 23.

1982. Erica tetralix met trosvormige bloiewijzen. Ericultura 47: 8-9.
Note: reprinted in De levende Natur 84 (5-6): 189.

1982. Why Erica carnea is the name to use for the winter heath. Yearbook 2 (11): 23-25.

1982. A double form of Daboecia cantabrica. Yearbook 2 (11): 32-33.

1982. The “Splendid” bell heathers. Yearbook 2 (11): 37-42.

1982. [with WIJNANDS, O.] Erica carnea or E. herbacea. Taxon 31: 319-320.

1982. Keeping pace with heathers. Country life 9 September: 740-741.

1983. Iter Hispanicum ericaceum. Yearbook 3 (1): 33-40.

1983. Registration of heather cultivar names. Yearbook 3 (1): 46-49.

1983. The Carna colony of Erica mackaiana, a new variety. Irish naturalists’ journal 21: 85-86.

1984. Calluna ‘Darleyensis’ and ‘Penhale’. Yearbook 3 (2): 35-37.

1984. Daboecias with erect flowers. Yearbook 3 (2): 46-47.

1984. Fasciated heathers. Yearbook 3 (2): 47-48.

1984. Erica cinerea var. rendlei — a correction. Yearbook 3 (2): 48-49.

1984. Sports, reversions, witches brooms and the like. Yearbook 3 (2): 57-66.

1984. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 4th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (2): 69-72.

1984. The white heathers. The plantsman 6:183-191.

1984. Heathers in the British Isles. The living countryside no. 164: 3290-3293.

. 1984. [with NELSON, E. C.] Two new wild white-flowered heathers (Erica andevalensis and E. mackaiana)
from Spain. Glasra 7: 35-40.

. 1984. E. carnea ‘Christine Fletcher’. Bulletin 3 (11): 7.

102. 1984. E. ciliaris in Wales? Bulletin 3 (12): 7.

103

104.

105
106

. 1985. Index of heather names, pp 140-160, in YATES, G., The gardener’s book of heathers. London:
Frederick Warne.

Note: while not signed this is by D. McClintock, as acknowledged in Yates’ introduction (see also no. 56 above).
1985. [with NELSON, E. C. & SMALL, D.] The natural habitat of Erica andevalensis in southwestern Spain.
Kew magazine 2: 324-330.

. 1985. Kurt Kramer’s new carneas. Yearbook 3 (3): 13-14.

. 1985. Erica ‘W. G. Pine’. Yearbook 3 (3): 35.

107. 1985. [with BRANDHAM, P.] The chromosome numbers of four hybrid heaths. Yearbook 3 (3): 55.

108
109
110

. 1985. Erica tetralix with a racemose inflorescence. Yearbook 3 (3): 57-59.
. 1985. Corrections and additions to “Fasciated heathers”. Yearbook 3 (3): 71-72.

. 1985. Supplement to “Sports, reversions, witches’ brooms and the like”. Yearbook 3 (3): 73.

111. 1985. [Heather bleat ]. Bulletin 3 (15): 5.

IW

113
114
11S)
116
A,
118
119
120
121
122

123
124
125
126
WA

. 1986. Harmonising botanical and cultivar classification with special reference to hardy heathers.

Acta horticulturae 182: 277-283.

. 1986 [with GARRATT, B.] Miss Waterer of Eden Valley. The Cornish garden 29: 41-47.

. 1986. Vresy a vresovce na britishkych ostrovech. Zahradnictve 12: 567-568.

. 1986. R. A. Ide (1918-1981) — a memoir. Yearbook 3 (4): 13-16.

. 1986. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 5th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (4): 39-41.
. 1987. A history of hardy heathers. Hortus 3: 59-63.

. 1987. Stellate cross-leaved heaths. Yearbook 3 (5): 18-19.

. 1987. A newly discovered book on heathers. Yearbook 3 (5): 41.

. 1987. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 6th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (5): 61-64.

. 1987. Personal names for South African Ericas. Part 1. Yearbook 3 (5): 64-69.

. 1987. [with BRICKELL, C. D.] Proposal to conserve Erica carnea L. against E. herbacea L. (Ericaceae).
Taxon 36: 479-481.

. 1987. The origin of ‘Lyng’? Bulletin 4 (2): 7.

. 1987. Ein zu kurzer Besuch bei einigen deutschen Heidefreunden. Der Heidegarten 21: 28-29.

. 1988. Progress by members in knowledge about heathers since 1963. Yearbook 3 (6): 28-33.

. 1988. Aname for Erica manipuliflora with white flowers. Yearbook 3 (6): 43-44.

. 1988. Personal names for South African Ericas. Part 2. Yearbook 3 (6): 51-55.

128.
129:
130.
131.
52%
133:
134.
35:
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.

148.
149.
150.
SI
52s

SS),
154.
155:
156.
157.
158.

159)
160.
161.
162.
i163:

164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
IWS
172.
173.

174.

ile

1988. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 7th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (6): 55-57.

1988. Hardy heathers with coloured foliage, and other newer cultivars. Hortus 7: 53-62.

1988. Misnomers: ‘Mousehole Compact’ and ‘Sister Anne Pink’. Bulletin 4 (3): 5.

1988. Calluna vulgaris ‘Kinlochruel’. Bulletin 4 (4): 5-6.

1988. Erica terminalis var. albiflora. Bulletin 4 (5): 6.

1989. A note on cultivar names in fancy form. Yearbook 3 (7): 16-17.

1989. The Erica scoparia in Madeira. Yearbook 3 (7): 32-36.

1989. The “Viridiflora” variants of Cornish heath. Yearbook 3 (7): 51-54.

1989. Heather records. Yearbook 3 (7): 54-60.

1989. Geographical names for Southern African Ericas. Yearbook 3 (7): 60-63.

1989. Personal and geographical names for heathers —7th [sic 8th] Supplement. Yearbook 3 (7): 63-65.
1989. Erica bocquetii. Der Heidegarten 26: 23.

1989. Proposal to conserve Erica vagans (Ericaceae) with a conserved type. Taxon 38 (3): 526-527.

1989. Erica anthura Link, a good species? BSBI news 51: 50.

1989. Erica vagans L. BSBI news 51: 50.

1989. A mini tour in West Turkey. International Dendrology Society year book: 78-79.

1989. The heathers of Europe and adjacent areas. Botanical journal of the Linnean Society 101 (3): 279-289.
1989. Calluna in Crete? BSBI news 53: 58.

1989. Erica carnea is the correct name for the Winter heath — official. Bulletin 4 (8): 7.

1990. [with BRICKELL, C. D.] On the retention of Erica carnea as the correct name for the winter heath.
The garden 115: 183.

1990. Erica bocquetii and other Turkish Ericas. Yearbook 3 (8): 48-52.

1990. Erica scoparia and its variants. Yearbook 3 (8): 53-61.

1990. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 9th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (8): 66-77.

1990. Erica bocquetii Pesmen. BSBI news 54: 51.

1990. [with JARVIS, C. E.] Notes on the typification of fourteen Linnaean names for European species of
Erica, Calluna and Andromeda. Taxon 38: 507-519.

1990. A distinguished visitor from South Africa. Bulletin 4 (11): 3.

1990. Gall midge damage to Ericas. Bulletin 4 (11): 4.

1991. The two Heathers in Cyprus. Yearbook 3 (9): 11-15.

1991. Who was “Our Mr Richard Potter”? Yearbook 3 (9): 17-18.

1991. Pressing plants. Yearbook 3 (9): 20-21.

1991. Some of the story of the Erica vagans group. Yearbook 3 (9): 27-29.

Notes: translated into German and Dutch: Einiges uber die Geschichte der Erica vagans-Gruppe.
Der Heidegarten 29: 12-13 (1991); Iets over de geschiedenis van de Erica vagans-groep. Ericultura 83:
Ie US)

1991. Erica scoparia var. macrosperma, an updating. Yearbook 3 (9): 33.

1991. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 10th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (9): 39-41.

1990. The “Rigid” Callunas. Heather news 14 (1): 9.

1991. The Ericas of Turkey. Karaca Arboretum magazine 1 (1): 6-9.

1991. Le point sur les bruyéres cultivees et genres voisins. Association des parcs botaniques de France.
Bulletin de liasion 4: 13-16.

Note: Translated by B. de Rochefoucauld: a “general account originally written for the Kew magazine”.
1991. Paintings at Wisley. Bulletin 4 (13): 3.

1992. The heathers of Europe and neighbouring regions — an up-date. Yearbook 3 (10): 12-16.

1992. Outliers. Yearbook 3 (10): 44-45.

1992. David Wilson’s hybridisations Yearbook 3 (10): 51-53.

1992. Cape Heath cultivars. Yearbook 3 (10): 60-61.

1992. Personal and geographical names for heathers — 11th Supplement. Yearbook 3 (10): 65-67.

1993. Calluna ‘Aureafolia’. IGPS newsletter 47: 14.

1993. 1992 Spring visit to Kurt Kramer. Yearbook 4 (1): 12-14.

1993. A bibliography of heathers. First supplement: 1970-1993. Yearbook 4 (1): 23-29.

1993. Heaths in all their glory. Kew (Spring 1993): 40 .

Note: a review of Schumann & Kirsten Ericas of South Africa.

1993. Bruckenthalia, Calluna, Daboecia, Erica, in BECKETT, K. A. & GREY-WILSON, C. (editors)
Encyclopaedia of alpines. 2 volumes. Pershore: Alpine Garden Society.

2.

WD
176.
WHT.
178.
79:
180.

181.
182.
183.
184.
T85.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
oz
193:
194,
195:
196.

197.
198.
199.

200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
208.
209.

1993. Longest inflorescences? Bulletin 4 (18): 5.

1993. 1st FCC — Calluna vulgaris ‘Cuprea’? Bulletin 4 (18): 5.

1993. RHS Awards of garden Merit — that nearly didn’t make it! Bulletin 4 (19): 3-5.

1994 Foreword. Yearbook 1994: iii.

1994. Bud-flowering heathers. The garden 119: 543.

1994. Erica, pp 249-250 in PRESS, J. R. & SHORT, M. J. (compilers). Flora of Madeira. London: Natural
History Museum.

1994. Budbloomers — observations and records. Bulletin 5 (2): 8.

1994. Amazing inflorescences. Bulletin 5 (2): 9.

1994. Heather at Buckingham Palace. Bulletin 5 (2): 9.

1994. Calluna vulgaris ‘Rosalind’. Bulletin 5 (2): 10-11.

1994. Erica tetralix f. racemosa. Bulletin 5 (2): 11.

1994. Fragments of a letter from Kent. Heather news 17 (2): 4.

1995. Erstbeschreibung auf Lateinisch, Erica x oldenburgensis. Deutsche Baumschule 5: 198.
1995. Erica bocquetii. Bulletin 5 (4): 4-5.

1995. Unusual Daboecias. Bulletin 5 (4): 5.

1995. Prolific producers. Bulletin 5 (4): 11-12.

1995. Calluna vulgaris ‘Visser’s Fancy’. Bulletin 5 (5): 9-10.

1995. Erica cinerea var. rendlet. Bulletin 5 (5): 10.

1996. Erica x oldenburgensis. Der Heidegarten 39: 35.

1996 Heidi fur Gorbi. Bulletin 5 (8): 14-15.

1996. Roots of the Beale family tree. Heather news 19 (2): 4.

1997. Erica spiculifolia x Erica carnea Erica x krameri. Der Heidegarten 41: 18-20.

Note: also published in Dutch in Ericultura 107: 6-7.

1997. Erica x griffithsti, a new heather hybrid. The new plantsman 4: 83-84.

1997 Major-General P. G. Turpin C.B., O.B.E. (1911-1996). Yearbook 1997: 1-3.

1998. [with illustrations by BLAMEY, M.] Heathers of The Lizard. The Cornwall Garden Society. Pp 12.
Note: also issued in Cornish garden 41: 24-32.

1998 Erica x krameri: the hybrid between E. carnea and E. spiculifolia. Yearbook 1998: 26.
1998. [Kew heather garden.] Bulletin 5 (13): 9.

1998. What's in a name! ‘White Lawn’ ... ‘Punch’s Dessert’. Bulletin 5 (14): 10-11.

1999. Cape heaths crossed with European species. The new plantsman 6 (4): 207.

1999. [Poemes en fleur by Michel Cointot. 1994.] Bulletin 5 (16): 10.

1999. A presidental predicament Mount Cofano — Friday 16 th April 1999. Bulletin 5 (17): 3-5.
1999. More on ‘Kinlochruel’. Heather news 22 (3): 3.

1999. ‘Dunnett [sic] Lime’ — a note. Heather news 22 (4): 4.

1999. ‘Emerald Jock’ — a note Heather news 22 (4): 25.

2000. Yet another Erica hybrid: E. x garforthensis. Yearbook 2000: 17.

210. 2000. The history of Calluna vulgaris ‘Elegantissima’ and a memoir of Walter Ingwersen. Bulletin 5 (19): 10-12.
211. 2000. Obituary — David Coombe. Bulletin 5 (19) : 21.

212. 2000. Obituary — H. J. van de Laar. Bulletin 5 (19): 22.

213. 2001. One of my favorite plants. Heather news 24 (2): 4.

214. 2002. News of Erica sicula. Yearbook 2002: 15-16 [this issue].

Index

Andromeda — 10, 152 Calluna vulgaris (contd)

Bruckenthalia — 174; see also Erica spiculifolia ‘Emerald Jock’ — 208

Calluna vulgaris — 145, 152, 161, 174 ‘Kinlochruel’ — 131, 206
‘Aureafolia’ — 170 ‘Mousehole Compact’ — 130
bud-flowering — 179, 181 ‘Penhale’ — 92
‘Cuprea’ — 176 ‘Punch’s Dessert’ — 202
‘Darleyensis’ — 61, 92 ‘Rosalind’ — 184
‘Dunnet Lime’ — 207 ‘Sister Anne Pink’ — 130
‘Elegantissima’ — 210 ‘Visser’s Fancy’ — 191

‘Elegantissima Walter Ingwersen’ — 68 ‘White Lawn’ — 202

Daboecia azorica — 19, 57
cantabrica — 10, 19, 25, 32, 57, 85, 93, 174
X scotica — 19, 43, 57

Erica — 152, 174
x afroeuropaea — 203
andevalensis — 100, 104
anthura — 141; see also manipuliflora
australis — 22
bocquetit — 139, 148, 151, 188
carnea — 77, 84, 87, 101, 105, 122, 146, 147, 196
ciliaris — 17, 70, 82, 102
cinerea — 67, 73, 76, 86, 95, 192
x darleyensis — 106
erigena — 51
xX garforthensis — 209
x griffithsii — 197
herbacea — 77, 87, 122; see also carnea
hibernica — 13; see also erigena
x krameri — 196, 200
mackaiana — 8,37, 40,91, 100
maderensis — 78
manipuliflora — 126
mediterranea — 13, 21, 26, 27; see also erigena
x oldenburgensis — 187, 193
X praegeri — 8; see also x stuarti
scoparia — 61, 134, 149, 159
sicula — 69, 214, 205
spiculifolia — 196
X stuartii — 63, 71
terminalis — 132

13

Erica (contd)
tetralix — 8, 70, 83, 108, 118, 185
vagans — 24, 135, 140, 142, 158
xX watson — 70
x williamsii — 41

heather names —
geographical: — 33, 34, 38, 39, 44 46, 62, 79,97,
116, 120, 128, 137, 138, 150, 160, 169
personal: — 33, 34, 46, 62,79, 97, 116, 120, 121,
127, 128, 138, 150, 160, 169
for Southern African — 121, 127, 137
Heather Society — 28, 53
heathers: aberrant — 48
bibliography — 23, 172
chromosome numbers — 64, 107
double-flowered — 7, 37, 49, 85
fasciated — 94, 109
hybrids — see also under individual names — 107
naming — 20, 56, 59, 72, 103
heathers in Britain — 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 99
Crete — 145
Cyprus — 155
Europe — 31, 144, 152, 165
ireland — 9, 17, 24, 36, 40, 81, 91, 99
Madeira — 180
_ Spain — 89, 100, 104
Turkey — 143, 148, 162
heathers with coloured foliage — 129
with parts in fives or sixes — 58
with white flowers — 12, 25, 29, 98, 126

HEATHER CULTIVARS ASSOCIATED WITH DAviD MCCLINTOCK

Calluna vulgaris
‘Castle of Mey’
‘Dunnet Lime’
‘Grey Carpet’
‘Grey Seedling’ (registered 1988, no. 61)
‘L’Ancresse’
‘Lemon Gen’
‘Prizewinner’
‘White Lawn’
‘Winter Sun’
‘Yellow One’

Daboecia cantabrica
‘Charles Nelson’
‘Cleggan’ (registered 1991, no. 93)

Erica arborea
‘Spanish Lime’ (registered 2000, no. 164)
E. carnea
‘David's Seedling’
‘Lake Garda’
E. ciliaris
‘David McClintock’
E. cinerea
‘Angarrack’
‘Autumn Pink’
‘Crimson Glow’ (registered 1987, no. 53)
‘Guernsey Lime’
‘Guernsey Pink’
‘Guernsey Plum’
‘Guernsey Purple’
‘Jersey Wonder’ (registered 1982, no. 22)
‘Next Best’

14

E. erigena
‘Trish Dusk’
‘Trish Salmon’
E. mackaiana
‘Donegal’
‘Galicia’
‘Shining Light’
E. manipuliflora
‘Cascades’ (‘Waterfall’)

Ee

Ee

Ee

x stuartii

‘Trish Lemon’

‘Trish Orange’

‘Nacung’
tetralix

‘Arriba’

‘Pink Pepper’ (registered 1987, no. 56)
X veitchii

‘Brockhill’ (registered 1994, no.130)

E. scoparia
‘Madeira Gold’
BOTANICAL NAMES FOR HEATHERS, AND NEW COMBINATIONS,
PUBLISHED BY Davip McCLINTOCK
Bruckenthalia E. x darleyensis f. albiflora D.C. McClintock

B. spiculifolia f. albiflora D.C. McClintock
= Erica spiculifolia f. albiflora (D. C. McClintock)
E. C. Nelson & D. C. McClintock

Daboecia

D. azorica f. albiflora D. C. McClintock

D. cantabrica subsp. azorica (Tutin & E. F. Warburg)
D. C. McClintock

D. cantabrica nothosubsp. scotica (D. C. McClintock)
D. C. McClintock

D. cantabrica f. alba (Don) D. C. McClintock

D. cantabrica f. blumti D. C. McClintock

D. xX scotica D. C. McClintock
= D. cantabrica nothosubsp. scotica
(D. C. McClintock) D.C. McClintock

D. x scotica f. albiflora D. C. McClintock

Erica

E. x afroeuropaea D.C. McClintock

E. andevalensis f. albiflora D. C. McClintock &
E. C. Nelson

. arborea f. aureifolia D. C. McClintock

. carnea f. aurefolia D.C. McClintock

. ciliaris f. aureifolia D.C. McClintock

. cinerea var. kruessmanniana D.C. McClintock

. cinerea var. kruessmanniana subvar. depauperata
D.C. McClintock

. cinerea f. alba (Aiton) D. C. McClintock

E. cinerea f. aureifolia D. C. McClintock

mmm mm

up|

ap] mammmmmm m mrammnmamam

mmmmm mm

. X darleyensis £. aureifolia D. C. McClintock

. erigena f. alba (W. J. Bean) D. C. McClintock
. erigena f. aureifolia D. C. McClintock

.X garforthensis D.C. McClintock

.X griffithsit. D. C. McClintock

.X krameri D.C. McClintock

. lusitanica f. aureifolia D. C. McClintock

. mackaiana subsp. andevalensis (Cabezudo &

Riviera) D. C. McClintock & E. C. Nelson

. mackaiana f. eburnea E. C. Nelson &

D. C. McClintock

. mackaiana f. eglandulosa D.C. McClintock

. manipuliflora subsp. anthura (Link)

. manipuliflora f. albiflora D.C. McClintock

. multiflora f. alba (Regel) D. C. McClintock

. X oldenbergensis D.C. McClintock

. scoparia subsp. maderincola D. C. McClintock
. scoparia subsp. maderincola f. aureifolia

D.C. McClintock

. spiculifolia f. albiflora (D. C. McClintock)

E.C. Nelson & D. C. McClintock

. tetralix f. aureifolia D.C. McClintock

. tetralix f. racemosa D.C. McClintock

. tetralix f. stellata D. C. McClintock

. umbellata f. albiflora D.C. McClintock

. vagans f. alba (G. Sinclair) D. C. McClintock
. vagans f. aureifolia D.C. McClintock

. vagans f. viridula D. C. McClintock

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 15-20.
News of Erica sicula in Sicily

T Davip McCLINTOCK
Bracken Hill, Platt, SEVENOAKS, TN15 8JH, Kent.

Until early 1999 it seems I was the only person who had seen and collected
every species and subspecies of Andromeda, Bruckenthalia (as was), Calluna,
Daboecia and Erica, native or naturalised in the northern hemisphere, except
two, both forms of the tender E. sicula. One was the type from the extreme
northwestern corner of Sicily, the other E. sicula subsp. cyrenaica from Libya.

It is not long ago we were told that the type was extinct, on Monte Cofano
(50km north of Trapani) and to have been lost from its other area, the island
Marettimo, west of Trapani. In very recent years however, the species was
refound on Monte Cofano.

I owe to our member Dr Lupo Osti the news of its rediscovery. He spent
a whole day failing to see it, but learnt that Dr Angelo Troia, a lecturer in
Palermo University, working also in the neighbouring Botanic Garden, could
show him where it was.

So, early in April 1999, they did see it. Lupo had to return home just _
before our party arrived, but on 16 April Angelo took us to Monte Cofano.
He brought with him a young Sicilian botanist, Salvatore Pasta, who also
spoke excellent English and became a tower of strength. Angelo had to leave
our party at lunch time, but not before he had specially made the very
awkward climb to locate the heather and collect specimens for me.

Our party consisted of Lady Glenkinglas, Patrick and Louise Grattan, all
old friends, plus the two Sicilians.

Events prevented us getting to Marettimo. Salvatore tells me it is still
there but very elusive to find.

Anne Glenkinglas wisely stayed below while the rest very gradually made
the arduous ascent, clinging to tufts of grass and any rocks that proved firm.
Eventually the tedious effort was rewarded by the sight of a plant 5 metres
up the rock face clearly identified through binoculars from neighbouring
white-flowered plants. What happened immediately after that is told in the
Summer 1999 Bulletin.

Salvatore said he had also seen it rather to the north and suspects it might
be elsewhere on that massif. Indeed he had not then searched for the actual

16

type locality on the northwest flank of the mountain, which was elsewhere
described as “prope sacellum [chapel] del crocefisso” A day or two later the
Grattans, walking lower down to the north, were delighted to see plenty of
the heather in what may have been the type locality. Since then Salvatore
has sent me fine specimens from thereabouts. Salvatore has a paper in draft
on its ecology. Our thanks to him and Angelo are unstinted.

Hitherto I had seemed to be the only member of The Heather Society to
have seen E. sicula growing wild. But Charles Nelson saw it in 1996 in
southern Turkey, and in 1999, first Lupo saw it in Sicily, then Pamela Lee
and Charles Nelson saw it in Cyprus (where I too had collected it).

How to get to see it in Libya?

Based on herbarium specimens, mostly cultivated and of not always
certain origin, I suggested the subspecies might be keyed out as

la _—_ Leaves and corollas glabrous or nearly so _libanotica

1b Leaves and corollas clearly pubescent 2
2a Corolla 8—9mm anthers 2.5—3mm sicula
2b Corolla 6mm, anthers 1.3-1.8mm cyrenaica

Does this hold good on fresh specimens?

All the corollas collected in Sicily were white except for one lobe which
was pink (it does not show on the dried specimen). Lupo Osti, however,
writes that the samples he collected and the pictures he made show the corolla
white but pinkish at the tip of the petals; and all the photos I have show pure
white corollas. The other specimens in my herbarium have only faded
corollas. Yet Fiori noted “Corolla rosea (rr bianca)” while Webb and Rix
(Flora Europaea 3: 6) had “Corolla white or very pale pink”. Which begs the
question.

This was drafted two years ago, hoping to be able to make a return,
finishing visit. But now I shall never be able to get that far again.

[Editorial note: David sent this note to me in the past summer, and he corrected the proofs.
have made one minor alteration since then. I promised him to append a summary of my own

sightings of E. sicula in southern Turkey, but that must wait. E. C. Nelson.]

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 17-22.
The accidental heather garden

ELLA May WULEFF
2299 Wooded Knolls Drive, PHILOMATH, Oregon 97370, USA.

Only after our new house was under construction in 1993 on a hillside near
Philomath, Oregon, USA, did we discover that the soil in the area was pure
clay, the kind that when it is wet coats your boots several inches thick and
when it is dry will repel a pickaxe. This was not the soil I remembered from
20-odd years earlier, when we had lived in a tiny university-owned house in
Corvallis on the floor of the Willamette Valley six miles away. Making a garden
there had been pure pleasure, not difficult at all. This stuff sucked. Literally.

Any garden to be created on this hillside was going to need soil
amendments in abundance before I could even consider planting anything.
This is also deer territory, so a high fence around the garden was imperative.
We chose to enclose an area of slope above and behind the house. During the
autumn of 1994, we hired a local farmer to till a huge lorry load of Douglas fir
bark chips into the soil that would be inside the fence. Then we had another
load deposited there in a big pile. [had planned to spread this, underlain with
a layer of newspapers, several inches thick over the tilled soil as a weed-
preventing mulch until I could plant the garden.

The only thing planted that autumn was a Prunus yedoensis ‘Akebono’
directly in front of the bark pile near the western edge of the future enclosure.
Then my life suddenly became much busier than I had anticipated, and the
pile of bark never was spread.

The fence was built during the winter of 1994-1995. The “garden” now
became a deer-proof holding area for plants that I had boarded with friends
during our move and for the plants I was constantly acquiring from nearby
nurseries. The unmulched area grew an incredible crop of weeds, and it became
easier for me to make a garden around the rest of the house than within the
deer fence. The bark pile remained.

In 1996, I attended the North American Heather Society annual conference
in Eureka, California. After seeing Jim and Bev Thompson’s marvellous heather
garden in Manchester, California, and several smaller heather gardens, |
succumbed to heather fever and bought one of nearly every cultivar offered
at the conference plant sale. They were little guys in 2 ins and 3 23ins plastic
pots, inexpensive and easy to carry home in my car, all 48 of them.

18

There was no way I was going to get soil prepared for a heather garden
that fall, so I plunged the little pots into the fir bark pile up to their rims,
spaced about nine inches apart. I expected to move them into a permanent
home the following summer, or at least the year after that. Meanwhile, the
bark would insulate their roots from winter cold and help to keep them from
drying out. The cherry tree was now big enough to throw light shade from
the south, and the fence would shade them from the intense western summer
sun.
That first winter, only three plants died, probably because the bark wasn’t
quite as high around them as it should have been. The others thrived, and I
added a few more locally purchased heathers that I couldn’t resist. The garden
around the house outside the fence was slowly being planted as I was able to
dig in soil amendments foot by agonizing foot, but I was no closer to having a
heather garden prepared than I had been in 1996.

The little heathers didn’t know that they weren’t supposed to grow well
confined to nursery pots. They grew very well, indeed, and were soon
crowding each other because of the inadequate spacing. Only one was still
tiny and looked very unhappy — Calluna vulgaris ‘Hoyerhagen’. I dug it up,
replanted it into a larger pot, and sank it back into the bark pile. It is still not
nearly as large as its neighbors, but it is alive and has doubled in size.

Obviously, the heathers (except for Calluna vulgaris ‘Hoyerhagen’) were
no longer confined to their pots. They had sent their roots out through the
holes in the pots and were romping through the fir bark. The plants were
luxuriant and bloomed well, even though they received only morning sunlight.
I did get around to pruning them each year except last, but in the bark pile
they stayed.

The bark pile had become an accidental heather garden, unplanned but an
obviously happy home for its occupants. About the only thought I had given
to placing the cultivars was to put the tree heaths in the back row and to
group most of the callunas together, without, I might add, any regard for their
predicted size or growth habit. After all, this was to be a temporary location
for them. The only plants that appear to have suffered from this arrangement
are the two Erica mackaiana cultivars. They are simply not vigorous enough to
compete with the species around them. They are much smaller than the others
and haven't bloomed for two years.

What is really surprising to me is that the slow growing Calluna vulgaris
‘Foxii Nana’ and ‘Nana Compacta’ are still alive, even though they are being
shaded by their much more vigorous neighbors. ‘Nana Compacta’ has made
a lovely bun, although moving it would be futile, as the lower branches are
defoliated from the shading they have received.

In the summer of 1999, I decided
to move Daboecta cantabrica
‘Cinderella’ to a spot in full sun near
the house in front of a foundation
planting of camellias. Because this
plant was ona corner of the accidental
heather garden, it was easy to dig
despite being a large plant with an
equally large root system. It survived
the transplanting in mid-summer with
minimal setback, and that caused only
because I forgot to water it for awhile.
It has now recovered completely and
growing well.

When I finally began serious work
on a heather garden in Autumn 2000
(see Heather news #93: 14), it made
more sense to buy new small plants
for the garden or to take cuttings from
the plants in the bark pile than to move
tie ek pian By then ey nee Fig 1. Left to right, Calluna vulgaris Weoley
intermingled until it was difficult to Gold’, ‘Beoley Crimson’, 2.5in pot of 'Tib' with
determine which plant had sprung ‘Dark Star’ behind in the accidental heather
from which pot, assuming that you garden.
could find a pot. Only the tree heaths
were easily accessible. Not only were they on the edge of the pile, but their
direction of growth was up rather than out. I’d give moving them a try.

The largest was Erica arborea ‘Estrella Gold’, so that was my first victim. At
18ins tall, it would be a handsome specimen plant for the new garden, if I
could move it. I began digging as far from the pot as was feasible and soon
managed to loosen the roots that fanned out from the bottom of the pot. The
main root system went down and down, at least as far down as the plant was
tall. I finally got most of it out of the ground. This root was more than half an
inch thick and had burst straight through the side of the pot, never mind the
holes. No wonder the plant was thriving! The old fir bark was obviously the
perfect growing medium, acidic and easily penetrable, and I had supplied
water during our usual summer droughts (Western Oregon has a cool
Mediterranean-type climate).

20

Erica arborea ‘Estrella Gold’ has survived its years of neglect in the bark
pile and its rude removal from same, and it now thrives in full sun in the new
garden, where the clay soil has been liberally amended with both old fir bark
and coarse sand. Its lower branches are sparsely clad because of the crowding
in the bark pile, but the plant appears to be healthy and growing.

In Spring 2001, I moved Erica australis and E. erigena ‘Maxima’ to the new
heather garden. They are not nearly as attractive as the E. arborea ‘Estrella
Gold’. I'll give them a year in their new locations to see if new growth in full
sun will repair the damage caused by the overcrowding.

Meanwhile, I have moved only one of the shrub heaths, Erica carnea ‘Bell’s
Extra Special’ to the new garden. Its fibrous root system, while extensive, was
easier to dig than those of the tree heaths. It, too, appears to have adapted to
its new home in full sun. I tried to extract some of the other heathers from the
pile but thought better of it. They are simply too entangled. Bits of root system
from at least four plants were coming out when one was wanted. A recent
visitor suggested what is probably the best resolution for this dilemma: leave
the plants where they are and take cuttings from them. When it is finally time
to plant the Japanesque garden we envision for inside the fence, the old
heathers can be discarded.

Until that time arrives, this accidental heather garden is a good source of
cut flowers and a curiosity for visitors, who wonder that so many varieties
have achieved survival, let alone produced such luxuriant growth and
multitude of flowers while still in small pots. Many of the plants are at least 18
inches in diameter, spreading over, under or through their neighbors of the
same size.

This summer, I finally paid close attention to cultivar characteristics and
came up with some clear favorites. Calluna vulgaris ‘Lyndon Proudley’ is
outstanding. Of “normal” heather color and low erect stature, its sheer flower
power makes it a winner. It flowered extremely well on lateral branches, and
its fragrance was heavenly. C. vulgaris ‘Fortyniner Gold’ produces tall, straight,
unbranched spikes of white flowers. Here in the semi-shade, its foliage isn’t
gold but rather a light green. Even C. vulgaris ‘Beoley Gold’, shorter but also
vigorous, isn’t gold in this location but is distinctly lighter than its neighbors.

Calluna vulgaris ‘Caleb Threlkeld’ has spread enormously, pressed flat
against the bark and rooting as it spread. A year ago, I lifted a number of
rooted branches, severed them from the main plant and potted them up for
use in the new garden. The old plant never missed them.

Erica cinerea ‘Golden Drop’ won my heart the first winter, when its foliage
turned flaming red. In order to illustrate this article, 1 have just dug it up,

Fig. 1 Erica cinerea ‘Golden Drop’ showing root growth through the pot.

disturbing at least three other heathers in the process. Like the others, it had
sent roots out through the holes in its three inch pot. I finally had to break the
roots off in order to extract ‘Golden Drop’ from its neighbors without lifting
all of them, too. When I cut off the plastic pot, I found a very tightly packed
root ball, from which dangled the roots that had escaped through the pot
holes, like tentacles trailing from the body of a jellyfish. I have transplanted
this two foot-wide erica into the new heather garden, but I’ve also taken lots
of cuttings from it as a reserve, in case the old plant suffered too much root
damage to survive the move.

Among the others in the accidental heather garden, Erica x watsonii “Truro’,
E. tetralix ‘Daphne Underwood’ and E. ciliaris ‘Mrs C. H. Gill’ have developed
into beautiful bushy specimens. E. x stuartii ‘Stuartii’ caught my attention for
its unusually shaped bitone flowers. For long season of bloom at a time when
its dark magenta color is particularly welcome (fortunately not next to the
winter foliage of E. cinerea ‘Golden Drop’), E. x darleyensis ‘Kramer's Rote’
wins the prize. As I write this in mid-October, it has begun to flower and

DD

should continue until April. ‘Kramer’s Rote’ is a plant that gives you your
money’s worth.

My accidental heather garden demonstrates the old adage that rules are
made to be broken. It is a “one-off” garden, one plant of each cultivar (except
Calluna vulgaris ‘Fortyniner Gold’, of which there are two). The plants are a
jumble of sizes, shapes and colors. They are planted much closer together
than any horticulturist would recommend for healthy growth. Yet, with a few
exceptions, the plants are thriving and the assorted colors and shapes somehow
blend into each other to form a unified whole.

This is not a garden with great visual impact. The intermixture of colors
and textures prevents that. It is, however, a strangely satisfying garden:
satisfying, perhaps, precisely because it defies all the rules and still persists, a
wild tangle of plants united in their will to survive and in the subtle blending
of color achieved through the intermingling of the heather branches.

If you long for a heather garden and have neither the patience nor the
energy to plan and plant one “properly”, find a pile of aged conifer bark, buy
all the different cultivars you fancy, and plant them in the bark pile. If you
have the courtesy to remove their pots first, so much the better. If you don’t,
the plants will probably grow, anyway, if they are buried deeply enough and
watered well. Ina few years, you, too, will have an “accidental” heather garden.

Calluna vulgaris (25)

LIST OF SURVIVING CULTIVARS

Daboecia cantabrica (2)

E. x darleyensis (1)

‘Allegro’ ‘Cinderella’ ‘Kramer’s Rote’
‘Beoley Crimson’ ‘Praegerae’

‘Beoley Gold’ E. erigena (1)
‘Blazeaway’ Erica arborea (1) ‘Trish Dusk’
‘Caleb Threlkeld’ ‘Estrella Gold’

‘County Wicklow’ E. mackaiana (2)
‘Dark Star’ E. australis (1) ‘Dr Ronald Gray’
‘Finale’ ‘Plena’
‘Fortyniner Gold’ (2) E. ciliaris (1)

‘Foxii Nana’ ‘Mrs C. H. Gill’ E. x stuartii (1)
‘Glenfiddich’ ‘Stuartii’

‘Hamlet Green’ E. carnea (1)

‘Hibernica’ ‘Bell’s Extra Special’ E. tetralix (3)
‘Hoyerhagen’ ‘Daphne Underwood’
‘J. H. Hamilton’ E. cinerea (7) ‘Gratis’
‘Kinlochruel’ ‘Atrorubens’ ‘Ken Underwood’
‘Lyndon Proudley’ ‘Eden Valley’

‘Nana Compacta’ ‘Golden Drop’ E. x watsonii (1)
‘Naturpark’ ‘Golden Hue’ “Truro’

‘Schurig’s Sensation’ ‘Rozanne Waterer’

‘Serlei Aurea’ ‘Velvet Night’

‘Silver Spire’ ‘Violacea’

‘Tib’

‘Winter Chocolate’

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 23-30.
Tubie test-ing in British Columbia

Joyce PROTHERO
281 Cudmore Road, SALT SPRING ISLAND, British Columbia, V8K 2J7 Canada.

What is this woman doing?

| Ata superficial level, she’s peering at sprigs
E of heather, trying to identify ones which
have the largest percentage of florets open
yet still fresh, trying not to favour longer
racemes with many unopened buds over
| shorter racemes where all of the densely-
packed florets are fully open yet still in
prime condition.

But, more importantly, she’s about to be
§ confronted by the nature-versus-nurture
conundrum. She’ll discover differences
among samples of the same cultivar when
it is raised by different growers, and
similarities among different cultivars when
they are raised by the same grower. And
she’ll appreciate the merits of a superior cultivar when it is raised by an
experienced grower.

Ultimately, she’ll ask the more successful growers about where their prize-
winning plants are situated and when they are mulched and pruned. And
she'll begin to introduce some of the prize-winning cultivars into her garden.

For all these benefits, the Vancouver Island Heather Chapter of the North
American Heather Society suggests that other heather groups might consider
adding Tubie Tests to their range of educational programs.

How Tubie Test-ing got started

It all began in the spring of 1999 because members of our Chapter wanted to
encourage local garden clubs and fall fairs to include more classes for heather
in their flower shows. But before we could seriously begin nudging other
clubs, our Chapter felt that it needed to know a bit more about how heather is
judged. A three-person working group was appointed to research the issue.

24

What are we trying to establish standards for? was the question agonized over
at the group’s first meeting in June 1999. Were we interested in setting standards
for an arrangement? a bouquet? a whole plant? or a single stem? At the conclusion
of that meeting we divided among ourselves the “homework” assignment of
searching our Chapter’s complete set of the Yearbooks and Bulletins issued by
The Heather Society (THS) for information on the heather categories and
standards used for judging winter and summer shows staged by the Royal
Horticultural Society (RHS) and the competitions staged by THS’s regional
groups. (We had already failed to discover any pertinent information in Heather
news, issued by the North American Heather Society (NAHS), or in the revised
edition of Judging standards, just published by the British Columbia Council of
Garden Clubs.)

Gleanings from readings

From THS’s Yearbooks and Bulletins we discovered much. It was interesting to
learn, from the 1963 Yearbook, that as a newly-founded organization, THS
proposed to stimulate interest in heathers by arranging “displays and
competitions at RHS and local shows.” (As noted our Chapter was motivated
by a similar goal when it embarked on the odyssey leading to its Tubie Tests.)

We also learned that RHS’s competitive classes for heather usually called
for pots of plants grown in the open or vases of material from a single species
or cultivar. Competitions organized by THS’s regional groups generally were
somewhat less daunting. For example, the table shows organized by the South
West Group always included the same two classes: a vase or bowl of heathers
in bloom, and a vase or bow] of heathers shown for foliage effect. Comparable
categories were adopted by the Southern Group when it began holding
competitions in 1991.

The March and August competitions organized by the Midlands Group
contained four specialized classes as well as one for an arrangement of heathers
ina basket. Specialized classes for the March competition included: Erica carnea
in flower; Erica hybrid in flower; heather to be judged for foliage effect; and,
tree heath in flower. For the August competition, they were: any Erica cinerea
in flower — in an Oasis block; any Erica vagans in flower — in an Oasis block;
any Calluna in flower — in an Oasis block; and, any Calluna for foliage effect —
in an Oasis block.

From what we could discern, most of the competitive classes mentioned
above were adjudicated by qualified judges or experienced heather growers.
Only in the South West Group were the entries judged through the popular
vote of those in attendance.

ZS

The practical aspects of showing heather were addressed only in the 1975
Yearbook where an article by Terry Underhill advises, from a judge's perspective,
how best to select and prepare entries for heather competitions. (An expansion
of this information appears in Underhill (1990).) No other information on
judging standards was gleaned from the Yearbooks or Bulletins. (Geveral months
later, through personal communications, we were able to obtain a list of RHS’s
judging guidelines for meritorious and defective qualities of entries in heather
competitions.)

The judging standards working group met again in August 1999 to share
findings and consider future activities. It decided to report progress to the
next meeting by “judging” a few stems of flowering heather using the
information from Underhill’s article. This report was sufficiently well-received
that a “trial-run parlour show” was scheduled for the following spring.

Trial-Run Parlour Show
Despite its grandiose title, our original parlour show was aptly named because
our small group rotated its meetings through the living rooms of its members.
Thus, of necessity, the Trial-Run Parlour Show, held in March 2000, adopted a
small-scale, easily staged, participatory approach.

Small Scale. Beginning as we did ina crowded living room
with the top of a card table serving as a staging area, we were
forced to “think small.” We limited the size of exhibits to three |
stems of a heath or heather, a “stem” being defined as a season’s
erowth above the last natural branching or last pruning cut.
For containers, we used tubies, a “tubie” being a plastic test-
tube size cylinder with a pointed base and one-holed cap used
by florists for holding water for a single floral stem — but no
water fills our tubies exhibits because, fortunately, heathers
remain fresh without it. To stabilize the tubies, we used low
flat cartons, such as shoe boxes, with holes punched into their
lids. For judging purposes, an unique number was |
permanently affixed to each tubie.

Easily Staged. Set-up was quick and simple. The hostess
set up a card table, and the organizers brought several shoe
boxes (one for each competition class) with perforated lids,
one containing numbered tubies, another with writing
materials (pens, pencils), labels, judging slips, and tally
worksheets. Set-up was complete when the contents of the
boxes were spread on the card table and the lids replaced .

26

Participatory. So that all members, experienced growers and novice enthusiasts
alike, would feel confident in selecting heather for exhibition and in evaluating
the exhibits, we prepared a one-page Show Announcement. This
announcement, distributed about a month before the event, described the
competition classes, entry procedures, and judging criteria (as gleaned from
our readings and personal communications). Thus, when selecting entries for
a tubie test, an exhibitor could wander through his or her garden, judging
criteria in hand, to identify those stems that best corresponded to “meritorious”
criteria and avoided “defective” criteria. When organizing their exhibits at
the meeting, exhibitors were encouraged to write the name of each cultivar
ona removable label and then affix the label to the tubie holding that cultivar.
The exhibitor’s own name was not associated with the entry, however, so that
a non-competitive environment would be maintained.

Active participation continued into the judging phase when all in
attendance, usually in spontaneously-formed dyads or triads, objectively
evaluated the entries using the judging criteria on the Show Announcement.
Informal conversations within these groupings helped members compare the
quality of entries and learn more about the various cultivars being exhibited.
When judging was complete, the meeting continued with other business while
several volunteers quietly used preprinted tally forms to record the judging
slips and total the results. Near the end of the program, results were announced
and a short discussion ensued.

Guidelines for Staging a Tubie Test

Since conducting the Trial-Run Parlour Show in March 2000, our Chapter has
held four more shows. During that interval, as membership increased so that
we were forced to move our meetings to a small community hall. After this
move, fearful that the term “Parlour Show” might be interpreted as a formal
competition rather than an informal close-up study of heather, we began using
the term “Tubie Tests” to refer to our periodic table-top scrutiny sessions. We
recommend Tubie Tests as an enjoyable way to study heather “close up” and
would like to share our current approach to organizing this activity.

Issuing the Show Announcement. To be most useful, a Tubie Test should
be scheduled for a time when most exhibitors will have access to their best
material; in our growing area near the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, we
find March and September to be ideal. Because we encourage all members
currently growing heathers to participate in the Tubie Tests, we issue a “full
disclosure” announcement well in advance of the event which describes the
time and place for the Tubie Test, the competition classes, entry procedures,

Df,

and judging criteria. While each organization might need to adjust this
announcement to reflect local situations, we have found the following
competition classes, entry procedures and judging criteria to be understandable
and adequate.

Competition Classes. The content of the competitive classes should reflect
the range of species and hybrids most prevalent in members’ gardens; the
number of classes scheduled will reflect the estimated number of exhibits, the
space available for set-up, and program time available for judging activities.
Our Chapter has found the following three classes adequately accommodate
the heathers available in our members’ gardens:

March Tubie Test
CLASS 1: Any Erica carnea, in flower, one to three stems, all from the same plant,
judged for flowers
CLASS 2: Any Erica x darleyensis, in flower, one to three stems, all from the same
plant, judged for flowers
CLASS 3: Any heath or heather, non-flowering, one to three stems, all from the
same plant, judged for foliage effect

September Tubie Test
CLASS 1: Any double-flowered Calluna, in flower, one to three stems, all from the
same plant, judged for flowers
CLASS 2: Any single-flowered Calluna, in flower, one to three stems, all from the
same plant, judged for flowers
CLASS 3: Any Erica or Daboecia, in flower, one to three stems, all from the same
plant, judged for flowers.

Entry procedures. The following entry procedures mean that the only exhibitor
pre-meeting activity is gathering his or her entries. Everything else for staging
an entry is provided by the organizers.

@ There are no limits on the number of entries for each class.

@ Containers will be provided.
@ Labels for affixing cultivar name to container will be provided.
@ Judging will be by all present at the meeting.

Judging criteria. We’ ve combined the judging guidelines appearing in RHS’s
Horticultural show handbook (obtained by personal communication from an
English heather grower) and the award system published in Heaths and heathers
(Underhill, 1990: 316). As a result, the judging criteria used are as follows:

28

@ MERITORIOUS: Good condition; long, straight spikes of evenly spaced florets
or large umbels with florets symmetrically arranged; few unopened buds; no
faded florets; corollas undamaged; foliage clean, bright-coloured and healthy.

® DEFECTIVE: Unsatisfactory condition; spikes that are short, crooked or uneven,
or thinly or irregularly furnished with flowers; buds not yet open; florets fading
or turning brown; corollas pierced by insects; foliage that is dull, withered or
unhealthy.

@® POINTS: Condition, 6 points; spikes, 6 points; colour, 4 points; uniformity, 4
points; total points, 20.

Setting up the meeting room. It is ideal to have a separate table/ work
area for each Class. The base for holding the exhibits should be easily accessible
and clearly labelled with the class number and description (it’s amazing how
easily entries end up in the wrong category!). All the necessary supplies (tubies,
labels, judging slips, pens/pencils) for that Class should be in the designated
area.

@ Tubies. We continue to use numbered tubies. The hole in the rubber cap
is sufficiently large to accept two or three sturdy stems of heather yet pliable
enough to permit a motivated exhibitor to do some arranging of the spikes.

@ Base for holding tubies. We currently use upturned hexagonal-shaped
wooden planter boxes, with drilled holes in their former bottom, as bases for
holding the tubies. It is ideal to have a separate base for each Class so that the
exhibitors have sufficient work space for organizing their entries. It also is
advisable to prominently label and colour-code each base so that exhibitors
will be more likely to get their exhibits into the correct Class.

@ Removable labels for affixing cultivar name to tubie. Exhibitors can
use small labels to identify the cultivar name for each exhibit. In our early
shows we let exhibitors place the cultivar name on a piece of paper and lay it
on the cardboard base near the location of the tubie. Over time, we realized
that it was better to attach the label to the tubie so that, if the tubie was moved,
the name would stay with it. (The downside of affixing the label to the tubie
rather than laying a piece of paper on the platform holding the tubie is a
longer, slower post-show clean-up - even “removable” labels take a long time
to remove!) During the judging phase, if entries are clearly labelled, the
evaluators can learn cultivar names, check the Handy guide for cultivar
characteristics, and compare different samples from the same cultivar — all
good learning experiences.

@ Judging Slips for each Class. Each Judging Slip should be pre-printed
with a description of the Class being judged and have designated spaces for

29

recording the tubie numbers associated with the best, second-best and third-
best entries. The Judging Slips for a particular Class should be the same colour
as the label on the base holding the entries; the coordination of colour will
increase the likelihood that, within each Class, the correct Judging Slip is used
for judging the entries. Enough Judging Slips should be prepared so that there
will be one for each person in attendance for each of the Classes.

@ Tally Worksheet for Enumerators. It took several shows before we
recognized the need for a formal Tally Worksheet. The one we developed has
four columns so that a tubie number (and cultivar name, if available) can be
written in the left-hand column and first-, second-, and third-place votes can
be tallied in the second, third, and fourth columns respectively. It then is
relatively simple to add across the rows in order to identify the top three vote-
getters. The Tally Worksheet not only simplifies the task of tabulating the
Judging Slips, but also generates a lasting record of the results.

@ Concluding a Tubie Test. We must admit that there never seems to be
enough time in our meeting to adequately discuss the judging results and,
more importantly, consider their implications for the selection, care, and
maintenance of heathers in the garden. We can attest that individual learning
has occurred but, unfortunately, not been shared generally. We offer no solution
to this problem as yet.

| MARCH 4, 2000
| Class 1-1-3 stems, same plant, in flower E.xd. ‘Kramers Rote’ £.c. ‘King George’ = E.x. d.'Kramer’s Rote’
|; Class 2-1-3 stems, same plant, foliage effect Cv. 'Rebt Chapman’ Cw 'BeoleyGold — E.cin. ‘Golden Drop’

| SEPTEMBER 6, 2000
Class 1 - Cailuna, double, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower C.y. ‘Kinlochruel Cy. ‘Mics Jamieson’ C.v. E’sie Purell
Class 2 — Callura, single, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower C.y, ‘Aberdeen’ Cy. “White Lawn’ Cy. ‘Allegro’
Class 3 - Any Erica‘Daboecia, 1-3 stems. same plant, flower Ev. ‘Mrs D.F. Maewell Ex watson ‘Truro’ E.cil ‘Corfe Castle’

| OCTOBER 4, 2000
| Class 1 - Calluna, double, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower Cv. Elsie Purell’ C.v. ‘H.E.Beale’ Cv ‘Jimmy Dyce
Class 2 - Calluna, single, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower Cv, ‘Comett's Red’ Cy, ‘Marleen’ C.v. ‘Olive Tumer

| MARCH 7, 2001

Class 1- Enica camea, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower E.c. ‘Vivellil Ec. ‘Springwood Wh' E.c. ‘Golden Starlet’
Class 2 - E.x darleyensis, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower (disqualified) E.x d.'Kramer's Rote’ E.x d.'Kramer’s Rote
Class 3 — Any heather, 1-3 stems, same plant, foliage effect Cv. ‘Firefly’ E.cin. ‘Golden Drop’ C.v. ‘Blazeaway’

| OCTOBER 3, 2001

Class 1 - Calluna, double, 1-3 stems, same plant, in flower C.v. 'H.E.Beale’ C.v. ‘Annemarie’ C.v. ‘Peter Sparkes
Class 2 — Calluna, single, 1-4 stems, same plant, in flower C.v, ‘Aberdeen’ C.v. ‘Foxii Floribunda’ C.v. ‘Marieen
Class 3 - Any Enca/Daboecia, 1-3 stems, same plant, flower. E.x wat. ‘Truro’ E.cil, ‘Maweana E. tet. ‘Hookstone Pink

| * First place was won by E.camea “Springwood Pink — unfortunately, ¢ was disqualified because it had been entered in the wrong Class

Table 1. Winners of the Tubie Tests

30

Results and Reactions

The results of our first five Tubie Tests (see chart) reveal the range of heath
and heather cultivars that flourish near the coastal areas of southern British
Columbia. Interestingly, 15 of the 29 cultivars selected by our amateur judges
also hold the Award of Garden Merit which is conferred by RHS after extensive
garden trials. Sixteen of the 29 also appear on the “Elegant Eighty” list prepared
by David Wilson, the heather guru of the Fraser Valley, as representing the
range of cultivars that flourish in the southwest corner of Canada. Twelve of
the 29 are present on both lists. So much for the statistics!

Now, we paraphrase a few of the comments from members of our Chapter.
Participants liked the small scale of the exhibits because “the brain can’t take
it all in at once,” and the criteria-based judging because it offered a chance to
look closely and absorb and “to identify what’s what and who’s who.”
Although one individual found the Tubie Tests “a bit intimidating because
my heathers aren’t like that,” she liked being able to “see how a heather was
supposed to look.” The observations of one participant changed her approach
to pruning, from that of “hands off’ to a carefully selective removal of spent
inflorescences at their branching point so that young basal shoots would
produce long straight flowering stems.

Much of the post-judging discussion related to the growing conditions of
the plants producing prize-winning inflorescences. One participant
summarized the impact of the Tubie Tests by saying that “the benefits of
conducting these tests is increasing members’ knowledge of different species,
and the best locations and conditions for growing.”

It should be evident that Tubie Test-ing has increased our Chapter’s
awareness of the nature-versus-nurture aspect of raising healthy heathers.
We invite all heather enthusiasts to systematically scrutinize heather at the
table-top level — either at the kitchen table or as a participant in a Tubie Test.

References

SMALL, D. & SMALL, A., 1998. Handy guide to heathers. Ipswich: Denbeigh Heather Nurseries.
UNDERHILL, T., 1990. Heaths and heathers. London: David & Charles.

WILSON, D. 1997. The Canadian ‘Elegant Eighty’ named. Heather news 20 (2): 5-6.

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges, with thanks, the contributions of Ellen Norris and Karen Taggart,
the other two members of the working group established by the Vancouver Island Heather
Chapter to investigate judging standards for heather. Thanks go also to the members of our
Chapter who so enthusiastically supported our development of the Tubie Tests project.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 31-36.

A new rock-loving species of Erica from the eastern
Swartberg, South Africa

E. G. H. OLIver & I. M. OLIVER
Compton Herbarium, National Botanical Institute, Private Bag X7, CLAREMONT
7735, South Africa.

Fig. 1. Erica jugicola. Close-up of flowers.

Most species of Erica are erect, single-stemmed, bushy shrublets or shrubs
growing in open sandy/stony or peaty ground. In South Africa they can
also grow in two very different habitats — in seeps and marshes or on cliffs
and open rocks. This new species falls into the latter group since it grows
mainly on rock ledges where it forms large dense cushions or mats sprawling
over steep rock faces.

Erica jugicola occurs on the summit ridges of the Great Swartberg range,
a long range of mountains forming the northern border of the Little Karoo,

32

Fig. 2 (left). Erica jugicola. Several plants forming cushions on the south-facing slopes of Blesberg
looking westwards with E. lignosa (pink smaller flowers) in the lower foreground.
Fig. 3. (right). E. jugicola growing from a rock crevice.

hence the name, jugum (= mountain ridge or height; also a yoke) and —colus
(= inhabiting) (Fig. 2). Itis common on the crest of the ridge around Blesberg
where it grows on the southern side on the steep, dipping strata of sandstone.
The habitat at 2000m above sea level is relatively cool compared to the dry
summer heat of the lowlands. The clouds derived from the southeast trade-
winds that can sometimes cover the summits during the hot Summer months
produce a cool and moist environment. In Winter the environment is much
harsher with strong winds and rain and frequent falls of snow.

The plants can form large mats or cushions to 600mm across and, when
in full flower, provide a fine show (Fig. 1). When collecting the type material
we were pleased to find the suspected pollinating agent hard at work — large
long-tongued flies hovering around the flowers like hummingbirds. They
were also seen visiting other ericas in the area such as the very similar
E. lignosa H. A. Baker and E. albens L.

30

Erica jugicola is most like a group of species which share a similar
indumentum on the stems, leaves and flowers — Erica lignosa, 41
E. valida H. A. Baker, and E. oresigena Bolus. The last species grows only in
the Cold Bokkeveld and Cederberg mountains several hundred kilometres
to the west whilst E. lignosa grows sympatrically with the new species and
E. valida occurs on the nearby Kammanassie Mountains. However, they all
differ from it in their 4-nate leaves (not 3-nate) and the structure of the seeds.

In E. jugicola the seeds are distinctive for their many faceted shape which
is rare in the genus. The testa cells are elongate, mostly smooth walled and
have no pits. Most species of Erica have rounded, ovoid to ellipsoid seeds
which are distinctly alveolate with the testa cells subequal in shape with
jigsawed anticlinal walls and very pitted inner periclinal walls.

In E. jugicola the ovary is apically rounded and glabrous whereas in the
other species it is emarginate and in E. lignosa and E. valida puberulous to
shortly villous. Both of the latter species have similar anthers but with much
shorter, broader appendages. In E. valida the anther pores are relatively
longer. E. valida has almost equally sized flowers whereas those of E. lignosa
are much smaller (t 5mm long) and urceolate.

Erica lignosa is identical in habit and habitat preferences to E. jugicola. It
also forms compact mats hanging down from rock ledges and in the Blesberg
area in a few instances admixed (Fig. 2). No signs of any hybrids were noted.
Plants we have seen of E. valida were erect and rounded up to 300mm tall
growing on rocky ledges or outcrops or slightly taller in the ground in the
lea of large rocks. The habit of E. oresigena is very unlike the other species
being a large bushy shrub up to 1.5m tall growing in open rocky ground.

Erica jugicola E. G. H. Oliver & I. M. Oliver, sp. nov.

Habitus tegetiformis vel pulvinatus, folia quarterna, antherae oblongae calcaribus
longis angustis poro parvo, semina superficiebus pluribus cellulis elongatis angustis
sine poris. Figurae 4 & 5.

TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA, Western Cape, 3322BC, Oudtshoorn Dist., Blesberg, 2000m,
6 January 2001, E.G.H. & I.M. Oliver 11762 (NBG, holotype; BOL, BM, K, NY, PRE).

Shrubs. compact, 300(—400) mm tall, often densely matted cushion or sprawling mat
up to 600mm across. Branches: old main branches creeping and spreading along
ground or over rock faces, new main branches erect 100-300 mm long and terminating
in a florescence, occasional very short secondary branches 1-3 mm long terminating
in a florescence; stems puberulous with a few retrorse long gland-tipped hairs

34

admixed, internodes very short. Leaves 3-nate, imbricate, subspreading, oblong to
elliptic, rounded adaxially and abaxially, (3—-)5 x 1.0-1.3mm, sparsely puberulous
when young with some longer gland-tipped hairs abaxially, margins rounded, ciliate
with a few long gland-tipped hairs, sulcus narrow, closed at base; petiole 1.7mm
long, puberulous. Inflorescence: flowers 3 in 1 whori at ends of main and secondary
branches; pedicel 6—-10mm long, dark red, puberulous and with spreading long sticky
red gland-tipped hairs up to 0.9 mm long admixed; bract partially recaulescent '/,—
'/, way up pedicel, narrowly oblong, 2.5-3.0 x 0.7mm, pink with green apex,
puberulous, ciliate with long sticky red gland-tipped hairs, sulcus narrow '/, of
bract; bracteoles 2,'/,—*/, way up pedicel, otherwise same as bract. Calyx 4-partite,
oblong to narrowly elliptic, + 3.8 x 1.0mm, puberulous and with a few long red
gland-tipped hairs abaxially and on margins, green to red with apex green, sulcus
narrow, '/, length of sepal. Corolla 4-lobed, narrowly ovoid-urceolate, 7-13 x 3—
4mm, glabrous or occasionally with a few scattered hairs, pink; lobes erect to slightly
spreading, rounded, entire, + 1 x 2mm. Stamens 8, included or manifest, free; filaments
linear, slightly bent at apex; anthers bilobed, dorsifixed near base, appendiculate,
thecae erect, oblong, (1.7—)2.0 x 0.5mm in side view, dark brown, aculeate at base;
appendages linear, + 1.4 mm long sometimes broader towards theca, aculeate, pore
small, + '/, as long as theca; pollen in tetrads. Ovary 4-locular, obovoid, + 2.5 x
1.3mm, apically rounded, glabrous, green, with well developed nectaries around
the base; ovules 30-40 per locule spreading to pendulous on placenta in upper half;
style just exserted, terete, straight, glabrous, white; stigma truncate to slightly
capitellate, dark red. Fruit a woody dehiscent capsule, valves splitting to base at 45°
angle, septa equally on valves and columella; seeds irregular in outline with a several
facetted surface, +0.9 x 0.4mm, orange to dark brown; testa cells very slightly sunken,
+ 50-100 x 12-15mm, anticlinal walls thin, shallowly undulate to straight, periclinal
walls thin with no pits visible. Figures 4 & 5.

Fig. 4. Erica jugicola. A, open dehisced capsule with one valve removed; B, seed; C, testa cells.
All drawn from Oliver 11543.

se

SDS
5 Ko ae =

a

=|

ae a) O
~ - ‘ 7 Jul 74
r r %
02 - ~ Ass ’ ‘
< 4 P. A .
0.8 G na Bic of
yp? t , S- nefe g +» 4 aieleio~
«fo - j~ i Aff 1
’ "2 ’ j A
hie J '
4 iS f ra
“. 7” We
’ fe AP
wow
7} {es ’ ~
4 ‘ U
> ‘ , Sara Ft aa
s ae ’ ~s
4 9 OMS oO oO; s iG
ae 7 pond ane B.C,F-I.
'~- G0s Wise BON ¢ /
° ra “/ a ve ¢ A
ce : CO Nig ’ Rt
5 v
y, Ce 7) —

)
Te ee OO

Fig. 5. Erica jugicola. A, flowering branch, natural size; B, stem; C, leaf; D, long hair from stem
and pedicel; E, flower; F, bract; G, bracteole; H, sepal; I, anther, back, front & side views; J,

gynoecium with, left, ovary opened laterally. All drawn from the type collection, Oliver 11762.
© Inge Oliver

35

36

— 2 Sars SERIES OR SOD 8 : SCORSESE :

0 20 40 60 80 100km
a

|

Fig. 6. Known distribution of Erica jugicola.

PARATYPES: WESTERN CAPE. — 3321: Swartberg between Waboomsberg and
Kangoberg, 6000ft [1830m], (-BD), 3 December 1969, Oliver 3048 (NBG); Swartberg,
summit ridges between Kliphuisvlei & Plaatsberg, 6000-6500ft [1830-1980m], (-BD),
15 January 1954, Taylor 1091A (BOL). — 3322: Swartberg Pass, 6000ft [1830m], (—
AC), 24 January 1941, Esterhuysen 4562(BOL); ibid, Janaury 1935, Stokoe 6858(BOL,
NBG); ibid., January 1947, Stokoe SAM62510(SAM); ibid., 6000 ft [1830m], December
1934, Thorne SAM50003(SAM) as Stokoe SAM50003(BOL); Spitzkop, 6500ft [1980m],
(-AD), 25 January 1953, Taylor 650(NBG, PRE); ibid., summit, February1932, Thorne
SAM501&6 (BOL, SAM); Blesberg, main peak in ridge E of, 6600ft [2010m], (-BC), 6
January 1975, Oliver 5623(K, NBG, NY, MO, P, PRE, W); ibid., neck just E of, 2000m,
13 July 2000 (fruiting), FE. G. H. & I M. Oliver 11543(NBG); ibid., 6300ft [1920m], 12
January 1981, Viok 104(NBG); ibid., 6750ft [2060m], 18 December 1985, V/ok 1320
(NBG, PRE). Figure 6.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 37-42.

The hardiness of some of the less familiar heathers in the
English Midlands

ALLEN HALL
10 Upper Green, Nanpantan, LOUGHBOROUGH, LE11 3SG.

Fig. 1. A snow scene in the previous winter.

I have long prized and cosseted certain unusual heather species which have
the reputation of being tender, as I mentioned in my article “Heathers in the
glasshouse” ( Yearbook 1999: 11-21). Some of these species are hard to get
and I only have examples of some of them by the kindness of fellow members,
particularly Professor John Griffiths and our President, David Small. It would
be discourteous to them as well as potentially catastrophic to me to lose my
small stock by carelessness. So I take cuttings each year and keep stock plants
in a heated glasshouse during the Winter. However, since moving to
Loughborough four years ago I have progressively planted examples outside
and have had more success in raising them than I had expected. My main

38

Fig. 2. Erica scoparia subsp. platycodon after Fig. 3. A collection of heathers crowned by
the previous winter. E. lusitanica after the winter described in the
article.

purpose in this article is to report my observations following the Winter of
2000~2001 after re-capitulating on reports on hardiness in earlier Yearbooks.

In particular, there are articles by Mr T. A. Julian (our much-respected
late Vice-President, Albert Julian) in the Yearbooks of 1980 and 1983 in which
he reported on frost damage at Harlow Carr, Yorkshire, in the severe winters
of 1978-1979 and 1981-1982. The 1980 Yearbook contained reports by other
members in relation to the Winter of 1978-1979 and also a reprint from the
1963 Yearbook of members experiences in the severe Winter of 1962-1963.

Mr Julian reported that the Winter of 1981-1982 had the lowest recorded
temperatures of the century, going down to -16.9°C on one occasion. In that
Winter, there was damage even to some Cal/una vulgaris and Erica tetralix
cultivars but severe damage to Daboecia cantabrica, E. arborea, E.x darleyensis,
£. ciliaris, E. cinerea, E. erigena, E. mackaiana and E. vagans with some
cultivars killed off. In particular, & australis ‘Riverslea’ and E. umbellata
were killed off, and all the top growth of E. /usitanica and E. x veitchit
was killed but basal shoots later appeared.

39

Others in 1980, including Mr J. Bridgland of Hampshire, reported some
“burning” of the tops of E. lusitanica but E. australis untouched . Mr A. W. Jones of
Somerset said that the temperature in his garden in January did not rise above
3°C and reached —12.5°C. There were cold north-easterly gales during this
period and he told me later that he considered desiccation of plants while the
ground was frozen was the cause of a number of plant deaths. Among the
casualties were E. arborea, E. lusitanica, E. x veitchii ‘Exeter’ and E. multiflora.
However, E. manipuliflora, E. umbellata and E. terminalis were unharmed. It
appears from these reports that latitude and microclimate played a part.

By comparison with that extreme Winter, our experience in Loughborough
in the East Midlands has been benign during the last four winters, though I
have measured temperatures as low as —7°C. The wet and windy Autumn
and early Winter of 2000-2001 was unusual by any standard. There was no
frost here at all before Christmas. I am a native of the East Midlands and
cannot remember any other early Winter like it in these parts. In January there
wasa long cold spell with several snowy days. During a two-week period daytime
temperatures stayed close to zero and the ground remained frozen, though night
temperatures were not excessively low, perhaps down to -5°C and there were
no strong winds. February was also cold with many frosty nights.

In this Winter, I observed almost no harm to the North European species
considered hardy — Calluna vulgaris, E. tetralix, E. cinerea — or to those known
to succumb in very bad winters — Daboecia cantabrica, E. erigena — or English
varieties of E. ciliaris. However E. vagans “Valerie Proudley’ suffered tip damage
(the plant stands next to E. x griffithsii ‘Valerie Griffiths’ which escaped
unharmed.) My comments on the rest follow.

DABOECIA

D. azorica: | planted out four good strong plants in the spring of 2000. By
the Autumn two had died and I had dug up and repotted a third (which
subsequently revived and is currently doing very well in its pot). The fourth
did rather better and was in passable condition at the beginning of the
Winter. The Winter had no deleterious effects on it and it made steady if
unspectacular progress during the Summer of 2001. Clearly, I need to keep
these two remaining plants under observation. Further experiments will
be possible when this year’s cuttings are ready for planting out. Incidentally,
my plants, which I have been propagating on, mainly in pots, year after
year for ten to 15 years, are clones of a plant brought back from the Azores
by David McClintock and Don Richards in 1974.

40

ERICA

E. arborea: no damage, not even to ‘Albert’s Gold’ which has suffered slight
tip damage in some recent winters.

E. australis: ‘Riverslea’: no damage to well-established, 4 ft (1.2 m) high plant,
which is however well sheltered. ‘Mr Robert’: slight damage to tips of well-
established plants. In my former garden in Surrey, ‘Mr Robert’ suffered tip
damage and split stems in most winters.

E. x afroeuropaea (E. baccans x arborea): extensive damage to tips and upper
stems although the plant was situated in a very sheltered spot. However it
recovered fully during the following Summer. It suffers similar damage
each winter. This interesting Kramer hybrid has been growing in my garden
for three years and is 4 ft (1.2 m) high. It flowers sparsely and I grow it
mainly for botanical interest.

E. bergiana x spiculifolia: no damage observed. Another Kramer hybrid and
this one flowers freely to make a good garden display.

E. ciliaris: ‘Fada des Serras’: considerable damage with some main stems
splitting and damage to tips. The plants recovered in the Summer. This
splendid cultivar was found in Portugal by Mr J. Tucker. The clumps in
my garden are well established and stand 2 ft (0.61 m) high.

E. x griffithsit: no damage to ‘Heaven Scent’, ‘Valerie Griffiths’ or ‘Ashlea Gold’.

E. lusitanica: slight damage to tips. My plants are now well established, and
6 ft (1.8 m) high (after four years!). They are a glorious sight from late
October through to April. My interest in this species was first aroused by
Major-General Turpin who used to attend Heather Society meetings
wearing heather in his button hole and for the November Councils he not
infrequently chose E. lusitanica. It greatly intrigued me that E. lusitanica
flowered so early, and I was not satisfied until I had acquired a plant of my
own and had the joy of seeing it flower in October. E. lusitanica is a prolific
seeder and propagates naturally in warm climates to the extent of being a
nuisance. This characteristic is however valuable for me and I don’t bother
with cuttings.

E. mackaiana: ‘Shining Light’: no damage to this Spanish cultivar which has
prolific snowy white flowers and bears fertile seeds. I have tested this point
by collecting and sowing seeds. Currently, I have six seedlings in flower
and the plants and flowers are indistinguishable from the parent.

E. mackaiana subsp. andevalensis: f. albiflora: slight damage to tips of well-
established plants in sheltered position; f. andevalensis (pink form): no
damage, though these plants are somewhat better sheltered than the white
ones. As a point of interest, I find the pink form far superior to the white
one. It flowers earlier, is more prolific and has a more attractive habit.

4]

Fig. 4. Erica australis 'Mr Robert' in full flower after the winter described.

E. maderensis: extensive damage to tips. I planted three plants in the early

Summer to give them time to establish themselves before the Winter. Erica
maderensis (at least the form I have) is low-growing, woody and develops
slowly. The ones I planted out were only 3ins (7.5cm) across, about three
years old, very healthy and established themselves well with new growth
during the Summer. A fourth plant of the same size was planted in a stone
receptacle about 12ins (30cm) above the ground and close to a wall of the
house in a sheltered position. It suffered no damage.

David McClintock and Don Richards (Yearbook 1976: 15) introduced
the clone. Some years ago I discussed the hardiness of the plant with David
McClintock and he pointed out that it grows high on the mountains of
Madeira where it is sometimes covered with snow. He therefore thought
that it would be hardy in England. I have tried the species outside before
with results similar to those described above and I doubt if it can be classed
in the same bracket of hardiness with, say, E. Iusitanica or E. australis.
However the plants which suffered damage (and one of them looked to be
in a very sorry state at the end of the Winter) have recovered well and are
currently looking lush.

42

E. manipuliflora: ‘Korcula’: extensive damage to tips and stems. It is possible
that there were causes other than frost since this cultivar does not do well
for me. However, the plants have recovered well. ‘Aldeburgh’: extensive
damage to tips of a well established plant and some young ones. All
recovered during the following Summer.

E. multiflora: ‘Formentor’: central stem split and tips badly damaged. It did
not recover. Interestingly, ‘Formentor’ has survived earlier winters with
little damage. However the frost, though not more severe this Winter, was
never-the-less sustained for many more successive days than in earlier ones.

E. x oldenburgensis: ‘Ammerland’: no damage.

E. scoparia subspp scoparia, azorica, maderincola: no damage to well-
established plants; subsp. platycodon: extensive damage to tips of a well-
established, well-furnished 2 ft (0.62 m) high bush. The tips split but the
main stems did not. This is typical of damage observed in earlier years.
The plant went on to flower in the Spring and has recovered

E. umbellata: pink clone (not ‘David Small’) and white clone now named ‘Anne
Small’: no damage and the plants flowered beautifully in May-June.

E. xX veitchit: ‘Exeter’ and ‘Pink Joy’: some tip damage but the plants recovered
and flowered well.

CONCLUSION

The Winter of 2000-2001 was characterised by a warm, wet November and
December followed by long cold spells in January and February. The
temperatures of the latter were not excessively low but there were sustained
frosts. The plants may have continued growing long into the Winter and the
stems no doubt were turgid and so susceptible to frost damage. We were largely
spared the troubles of desiccating winds during the cold spells. These features
appear to explain the observations made above.

It appears that micro-climates from one region to another and even within
individual gardens are important in determining what species can be grown
out-of-doors in any given place. It pays to experiment and explore but only
when there are plants in reserve in case an experiment fails. This year, I have a
spare E. bocquetit which I have planted out in good time to get established before
the Winter. I have selected the site carefully to give it a good chance of success.

The English climate has become warmer in recent years and whether or
not this is a feature of global warming it has enabled us to enjoy growing
certain plants out of doors which are at the edge of hardiness here in the
Midlands. Will the warm trend develop and so encourage us to try Cape heaths
in the open here? Perhaps, but I intend to go on taking those cuttings to hedge
my chances of retaining a collection of interesting heathers.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 43-46.

Wild heathers of Apulia (Southern Italy)

PIERO MEDAGLI* & Livio RUGGIERO**
*Orto Botanico e **Museo dell’ Ambiente dell’ Universita, I-73100 Lecce, Italia.

Lee

Fig. 1. Habitat of Erica manipuliflora.

The family Ericaceae is represented in the Italian flora by nine genera and 22
species (the number for each genus in brackets): Arbutus (1), Andromeda (1),
Arctostaphylos (2), Calluna (1), Erica (8), Loiseleuria (1), Rhododendron (2),
Rhodothamnus (1) and Vaccinium (5) (Pignatti, 1982).

The eight species of Erica are E. sicula Guss. (see McClintock, 2002:
this issue), E. terminalis Salisb., E. cinerea L., E. carnea L., E. scoparia L.,
E. arborea L., E. multiflora L. and E. manipuliflora Salisb. Only the last
three species are present in the Apulian flora, together with Arbutus unedo.

Erica arborea is the famous pipe “bruyere” (erica da pipe), and can be a
shrub or a tree up to 5 metres tall. The flower has a white corolla, with reddish
anthers included in the corolla. It is widespread on the Italian peninsula, where
it may be found in holm oak (Quercus ilex) groves, in scrub and garrigue,

44

gees eee

Fig. 2. Distribution in Apulia of Erica multiflora (-----) and Erica manipuliflora ( )

generally on soils acidified by fires, at altitudes between 0 and 1200 metres. It
blooms from March to May. The wood, which is hard and not very combustible,
provides the briar pipe (Everett, 2000).

In Apulia this species is common but localized. It is present especially in
the “Macchie di Termolito”, near Alimini Lakes, and at Frassanitc in the
Province of Lecce, at Torre Colimena (Taranto), near Noci (Bari), and in many
localities in Gargano (Foggia).

Erica multiflora is a shrub that can reach 1.5 metres in height. The flower has
a rosy-violet corolla, with dark brown anthers projecting from the corolla. The
species is typical of scrub and garrigue on calcareous soils in central and southern
Italy at altitudes between 0 and 800m blooming in September and October.

Along the Tyrrhenian coast and on the off-shore islands E. multiflora is one
of the characteristic species of a phytosociological association named Erico
multiflorae—Genistetum tyrrhenae Biondi, which is typical of garrigue in windy
zones, and is formed on lava, rocky or stony substrata (Biondi, 1996). The
species that are characteristic of this association are E. multiflora, Genista
tyrrhena, Lavandula stoechas and Callicotome villosa. In Apulia, E. multiflora occurs
only in the Province of Foggia, and particularly on Gargano Promontory and
along the coast between Varano Lake and the northern limit of the region.

E. multiflora is also a typical species of another association, Erico multiflorae—

45

Fig. 3. Erica multiflora

Halimietum halimifolii Taffetani & Biondi (Taffetani & Biondi, 1989). This
vegetation type is found only in Molise, along the coast of Ramitelli, and
in Apulia, at Torrefantine. It is a kind of dense garrigue that colonizes the
highest parts of stable dunes. The characteristic species are E. multiflora
and Halimium halimifolium.

Erica manipuliflora, known as “erica pugliese” (Apulian heather), is a shrub
to 0.6 metres tall. The flower has a rosy, rarely white, corolla, with rust-coloured
anthers that project from the corolla. It is a thermophilous and xerophilous
species, typical of coastal scrub and garrigue, and thus it never occurs inland.
It blossoms from August to October.

Its area of distribution is the eastern Mediterranean, including Slovenia,
Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece (including Crete), Cyprus (see Viney,
1994) and Turkey (Brullo et alii, 1986). In Italy it is found only on the Salentine
Peninsula (Salento), the southern part of Apulia, where it ranges along the
Adriatic coast from Brindisi to Otranto. It is found also in an isolated station
on the Ionian coast at Punta Pizzo, near Gallipoli.

The vegetation type that includes the garrigue inhabited by E. manipuliflora
is an endemic association defined as Saturejo cuneifoliae—Ericetum manipuliflorae
Brullo, Minissale, Signorello & Spampinato (Brullo et alii, 1986). This forms on

oe.

ts ce “ a eas :
Fig. 4. Erica manipuliflora

46

calcareous substrates, where there are pockets of deep soil mixed with emergent
rocks. The characteristic species of this association are E. manipuliflora and Satureja
cuneifolia.

The presence of E. manipuliflora in Salento is one of the most prominent
characteristic of Apulian flora.

Conclusion

Apulia lies in the overlap zone between the Western and the Eastern
Mediterranean. Thus, it is possible to find in this region numerous plant species
that are either at the eastern or the western limits of their distribution (Marchiori
et alii, 1998). This also applies to animals, making Apulia a region of particular
importance for biogeographical studies in the Mediterranean area.

We have not found any information about present-day uses of any of the
species of Erica noted above.

Concerning their vernacular names, E. arborea is often called “scopa bianca”
(white broom). The word “scopa” is linked to many species of Erica, because
these plants were often used in the past to make brooms — the name Erica
scoparia is a good proof of this fact.

While some species of Erica are offered for sale by Italian nurserymen, in
our region gardeners have a stronger preference for exotic (foreign) species
than for interesting local ones!

References

BIONDL, E., 1996. Diversita fitocenotica degli ambienti costieri italiani. Proceedings of
“Aspetti ecologici e naturalistici dei sistemi lagunari e costieri”, Venezia 25-27 Maggio
1996: 39-105.

BRULLO, S., MINISSALE, P., SIGNORELLO, P. and SPAMPINATO, G., 1986. Studio
fitosociologico delle garighe a Erica manipuliflora del Salento (Puglia meridionale).
Archivio botanico e biogeografico Italiano 62: 201-214.

EVERETT, D., 2000. Erica arborea — the pipe smoker’s dream. Yearbook of The Heather
Society 2000: 11-14.

MARCHIORI, S., MEDAGLI, P. and RUGGIERO, L., 1998. Guida botanica del Salento.
Congedo Editore, Galatina.

McCLINTOCK, D., 2002. News of Erica sicula in Sicily. Yearbook of The Heather Society
2002: 15-16 (this issue).

PIGNATTL S., 1982. Flora Italiana. Edagricole, Bologna.

TAFFETANL, FE. and BIONDL, E., 1989. Vegetazione della costa adriatica compresa tra
le foci dei fiumi Biferno e Fortore (Molise e Puglie) e problemi di salvaguardia.
Proceedings of “Vegetazione e qualita dell’ambiente costiero nel Mediterraneo”, Cagliari,
24-29 Ottobre 1989: 27.

VINEY, D., 1994. Erica spp. in North Cyprus. Yearbook of The Heather Society 1994: 25-26.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 47-56.
Traditional uses for heathers in Spain

M. PARDO DE SANTAYANA*, L. RAMON-LACA** & R. MORALES*

* Real Jardin Botanico, C.S.ILC., Plaza de Murillo, 2, E-28014 MADRID, Spain.
* Instituto Madrileno de Investigacion Agraria y Alimentaria, Finca ‘El Encin’,
Apdo. 127, E-28800, ALCALA DE HENARES (MADRID), Spain.

Heathers are found over most of Spain, forming a basic part of forest
substitution scrub, being particularly common in regions under the influence
of the Atlantic Ocean.

As with plants such as chestnut (Castanea sativa), cork tree or pine in Spain,
it might be correct to refer to a “heather culture” as peasants have developed
a wide range of uses involving crafts, ideas and beliefs. The regions with the
richest heather cultures are, notably, those with greatest Celtic influence, such
as Galicia and Asturias, in areas where heathers are more common.

Until recently, heathers were generally an important resource in cattle
rearing, and still are in some regions. A mixture of heathers and other bushes,
known as ‘rozo’ in northern Spain, was traditionally harvested and crushed
for use as cattle feed and bedding. Heathers are still used as firewood, the
most useful part being the branch stumps for use in fireplaces and ovens.
Besides being a primary source of high quality charcoal and timber for
manufacturing objects, heathers are also a suitable raw material for dyeing
and tanning and produce excellent thick, dusky honey. Due to the flowers’
ability to retain colour when dried, several Erica species, especially E. australis,
are used for making beautiful bouquets that can be displayed all year round.
Most heather species are also used as diuretics.

Finally, heathers are, of course, present in the symbolism of the Galician
and Asturian cultures, having been used to ward off ghosts and to induce
rain by burning them outdoors with ferns (Rivera & Obon 1991).

Vernacular names of heathers in Spain

The most widespread term for heather in Spain is ‘brezo’ (pl. ‘brezos’), with
different local variations (‘berecilla’, ‘bereza’, ‘berezo’, ‘berezu’, ‘brecina’,
‘vericiu’), which, in contrast to English, is not applied in Spanish to Calluna
vulgaris, but only to species of Erica. From the Hispanic Latin ‘broccius’ and
the Celtic ‘vroicos’, this term is documented for the first time around the

48

Scientific name
English Name

Spanish names (province)

Calluna vulgaris
Heather
Ling

argana, ganzo, gorbiza, queirino, queiroga, urcias (As)

berecilla (Ba); brecina, brezo, bruguerola (Cs); biércol (Gu)
brecina, brezo, yerba del rinon (Hu); bercol (M); brecina, carpaza
(P); bereza, bereza negra, berezo, berezo negro, brecina, brezo de
lastra, matigo, rosono, tereno (S); aulaga, bercol, biércol, olaga,
sardino, tanarro (Sg)

Daboecia cantabrica
St. Dabeoc's Heath

brezo vizcaino, urciona (As); carpanza (Lu); bereza, berezo,
campanillas, matigo, urze, zarpa (5S); tambarilla (Corominas),
tambarella, tamborela, tamborella

Erica arborea

frezo negro (Ab); bruc, bruc de la flor blanca, gat pixat (B);
berezo blanco, berezo castellano (Ba); brezo (Co; Cs; J);
brezo albar (Gu; M); ur blancal, uz bornal (Lu);

brezo cucharero (Ma); brezo blanco, urz blanca (P); berezo,
berezo grande, berezu, brezo, brezo escoba, escoba, juncia,
hayuz (S); berezo albar, berezo, brezo (Sg)

Erica australis

bereza colora, berezo colorao (Ba); uz albar, uz negral, uz rubia
(Lu); berezo negral (M; Sg), brezo negral (M); brezo rojo, brezo
rubio, urz rubia (P); bereza, berezo (S)

Erica cinerea
Bell Heather

carpanza, carpanzo, carpaza, queiroga, queiruga, setembrina
(Lu); biércol, carracina (P); bereza, bereza negra, bereza triscona,
berezo, brezo, brezo negro, rosono, terenos, urze (S)

Erica erigena
Irish Heath

brezo (Mu)

Erica multiflora

bruc, bruc vermell, bruga (B); arros bord, arroset, brezo, bruc,
bruque, cepell, crespinell, pedorrera, petorrera (Cs); brezo,
pedorrera (Mu)

Erica scoparia

bereza de los arroyos, berezo de los arroyos (Ba); brezo rubial
(Gu); brezo de escobas, brezo perruno (M)

Erica tetralix
Cross-leaved Heath

brezo de las turberas, mogariza (Ba); berecebo (CR); carroncha
(P); berezo de laguna (S)

Erica umbellata

quiruela, quiruelo (Ba); mogariza, quirola (P)

Erica vagans
Cornish Heath

biércol, graspo (P); bereza, berezo, berezo rojo, brezo, brezo rojo

(S)

Table 1. Species and vernacular names in Spain

‘ . d re a — Ae
oi ie Astunas 7 Gant :
} CS pee | cma fr Min
‘Lb { igo 2 ane f *, oe
“ wi f %. hs ; i iene Bert
al pg f ; i * ier) af call if had erry
hy Lupa ~ Aen) reas ra * Lert
5 ae 4 a econ i Mea Hu
Pa i PP artocit, fame @ire eet at Hy, i i J NM
(—_— é aon, ff UP alencla ler he % ean)
i" d Le meee a ig a Ba bas er 3 Huesca | y
1 : i t , fa ela
| q i (Barcelona
\ i se ( e
i é : is i Fi eo von
foe ag prince es, my i} le
i ra one Segawa oe erate “sf a
i ih ae i Thy,
i \ Ar \_ Guadalajara CTT. 4
i [ = wf { a ‘ af ics ¢
; Fy a Ry F af Madnd | Nera we A h i
r Ge aa A Castelitn”
f ono Th amg ry at af
f J i er . Cu e vil f
coed mh Cuenca
at ‘
] ite, Saal yal aa al
let t oat es i 45 #
| aa i i Pas
: Ja f 5 CR | Ab i ed
bet: i a q ¢ td oie 7 y bi
ae f Ba pt. Clodad Real Albacete a! cy
ail [ Hadas se Cu
{ je ee al 4 ee C
é je ri Ce J iy om | y
4 a 1 Caéednba | pat Hs
{ a ; , OMe | Jaen 4 Murcia sy
{ / er aes J by sh # oe
é i f i} i, lif # 4 ra
r | q | : oy
/ \ : oe : ,
ae ee | Be f
H Loot Whe } i
eer oo! Miaga
Ln 7
1 40>
% Ar al
Ls P A
aoe E

Fig. 1. Eighteen provinces in Spain belonging to twelve autonomous regions.

eleventh century as ‘verezo’, and later ‘breco’ in old Castilian. Other forms,
which occur in regions of Spain outside Castilian influence, such as ‘biércol’
or ‘biélcol’ in Navarra and Rioja, and ‘bruc’, ‘bruga’ and ‘bruque’ in Catalonia,
have a similar origin. The same occurs in other European regions of Roman
influence, such as the Grisons canton (Switzerland), where it occurs as ‘brutg’,
in the Engadina (Italy) as ‘bruoch’, and in Gascony as ‘broc’ (Corominas 1980:
1: 662). The ensemble of heathers, i.e. an aggregation of ‘brezos’, is called ‘brezal’

in Spanish (pl. ‘brezales’).

As Corominas (1980: 1: 662) pointed out, in some Latinate places, ‘brezo’ is
replaced by ‘urce’ or similar forms (‘urcias’, ‘urze’, ‘urz’, ‘uz’) from the Latin
‘Alex, -icis’ (Corominas 1980: 5: 718). It is worth noting that ‘urz’, common

along the Cantabrian coast of Spain, also occurs in Gaelic.

The antiquity of knowledge about heathers in Spain is confirmed by the
existence of the term ‘argafia’, employed in Asturias for Calluna vulgaris. The
suffix ‘-anna’, as in the word ‘pestafa’, meaning ‘eyelash’, suggests a pre-

Roman origin.

49

50

Traditional uses for heathers in Spain

This paper deals with information on the uses of nine species belonging to the
genus Erica, Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull and Daboecia cantabrica (Hudson) C. Koch,
from among the 14 heather species occurring in Spain (Ramon-Laca & Morales
2000). The data comes from our own studies (Gu, M, S) and from bibliographic
references (15 other provinces indicated after the corresponding reference).
They include 18 provinces belonging to 12 comunidades autonomas (autonomous
regions): Albacete (Ab); Asturias (As); Barcelona (B); Badajoz (Ba); Cordoba
(Co); Ciudad Real (CR); Castellon (Cs); Cuenca (Cu); Guadalajara (Gu); Huesca
(Hu); Jaén J); Lugo (Lu); Madrid (M); Malaga (Ma); Murcia (Mu); Palencia
(P); Cantabria (S); Segovia (Sg). (These abbreviations are associated with each
bibliographic reference, except those without a specific regional association
which are indicated as Font Quer (1999) and Quer (Gomez Ortega 1784).)

The uses are listed according to the following categories:

1. Human food (no information reported)
2. Cattle and domestic animal feed

3. Medicinal (veterinary or toxic)

4. Industrial and handicrafts

5. Ornamental

6. Folklore

7. Agriculture, forestry and pasturing.

Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull

2. Used for feeding cattle, especially in winter (Ba); it is melliferous (S; Sg) although
the honey is generally left for the bees since its excessive viscosity makes it difficult to
harvest (M). Bees gather the dark pink pollen and abundant nectar from this plant, but
the honey remains congealed in the honeycomb cells due to the high protein content
(2%), which makes harvesting difficult (As).

3. Once they have bloomed, the stems are used in a distillation for dissolving kidney
stones (Hu), and as an antiseptic for the urinary tract (As). Dissolved at 3%, it is
employed as a diuretic and for losing weight (Cs). The plant was formerly used
externally as an antidiarrhoeal agent, to cure acne and herpes, as an antiseptic and to
cure joint pain and gout. Its leaves were distilled to cure bovine mastitis (Font Quer).
4. Used for making brooms (S; Sg), especially suitable for sweeping sheep dung (Sg).
The stems were used both for making large brooms and roofs (As). The wood made
good fuel for traditional ovens (As), both for baking bread and pottery (Sg).

7. As cattle bedding (‘estro’ or ‘mullido’) (S).

Daboecia cantabrica (Hudson) C. Koch
2. It is a valuable melliferous plant (S).

51

Names \ Provinces Gu|Hu| J j}Lu| M|Ma/Mu) P | S | Sg
Calluna vulgaris 3 2 me Dias
= tu
Daboecia : 2S
cantabrica Any,
Erica arborea 4 4 | 4
ee
Erica australis 46 4
baal
Erica cinerea 4 |4,5
Vi
Erica erigena 3
Erica multiflora 3
Erica scoparia i A
Ve
Erica tetralix L |
ie
Erica umbellata 24 | 4
2,4
Erica vagans
f |

Table 2. Traditional uses of heathers in Spain. Shading indicates species occurs in the province.

3. Used for castrating animals. Clothes soaked in a distillation were used for healing
and preventing infection (S).

4. For making brooms, although some maintain it is not suitable for that purpose, and
pipe smoking (S).

7. As cattle bedding (S).

Erica arborea L.

2. It is a valuable melliferous plant; the flowers give off a nice smell (Ba; Lu).

3. Distillation (2%) of the aerial part is used as a diuretic and for losing weight (Cs). It
was drunk to cure urinary problems (Lu), and bathing in distillations of this and other
herbs was thought to relieve the discomfort of rheumatism. The distillation of young
shoots was drunk to prevent enuresis (J).

4. The stems are used in the making the roofs of grain stores (known as “horreos” in
Asturias) and huts (‘pallozas’) as the base underlying the impermeable layer made of
rye straw. Such roofs lasted between 4 and 8 years (Lu). The branches are used for
making brooms (Sg) although some people dislike them, preferring other species: “Te
pones a barrer con ello y es demasiado docil, y romper no se rompe, pero no vale. [You try
sweeping with it, but it’s too soft, and, well, it doesn’t break, but, even so, it’s no good

OZ

Fig. 2. Spoons from E. arborea in Fuenlabrada de los Montes, Badajoz (E. Blanco).

for that]’ (S). Its roots and stumps yield an excellent wood for making tobacco pipes
(Ab; B; Co; J; S). Necklaces, jewel cases and musical instruments are made from the
roots. To be worked, the wood needs to be boiled for 12 hours and then left to dry (J).
The wood has even been exported to England, and is used for making wooden spoons
and other minor handicrafts (Ma). Extremely hard, it is used for making bell clappers
(‘campanos’) or cowbells (‘cencerros’), collars (‘cebillas’, i.e. wooden collars used for
tethering animals to mangers), clogs (‘albarcas’ or ‘almadrefas’), heels for clogs
(‘machorras’), harder than the more common hazel ones. Craftsmen use the twisted
stumps for making beautiful figures and pots (S). |

In olden times, goatherds cut the wood to make spoons and other handicrafts,
mainly tobacco pipes; the whole process was conducted manually using gouges,
cleavers, knives and other tools. Some craftsmen made necklace-like spoons and forks,
as well as salters, mortars, water jars and adornments. The decorative patterns on
such pieces are always geometric and have their origins in an old tradition (Ba). The
stumps were employed to heat bread ovens (Lu). Used for making charcoal (Ab),
especially that required by smiths (Sg). Because of its high calorific potential, the charcoal
made from this plant was used in forges. Too twisted for bread ovens , the stumps
made better firewood for kitchens (S). Mixed with furze and other plants for use in tile
ovens (S) and also in braziers (S). The charcoal was obtained by burning the wood ina
hole in the ground covered with stone slabs (Gu).
7. Its branches were useful for cattle bedding (‘estrar’) when no other material was
available (Lu). The soil from this plant is used as fertiliser in pots (Co).

53

Fig. 2. Erica australis and 'Brezal' of E. australis in Alto Campoo, Santander.
(M. Pardo de Santayana)

Erica australis L.

2. Considered unsuitable as cattle feed (Ba), but valuable as a melliferous plant (Lu).
3. A distillation used to cure pulmonary illnesses (Lu) and bovine pleurisy (Ba).

4. Its roots were sought after for making pipes (‘cachorras’) (Ba). Its branches are suitable
for making huts and stable roofs (P). Once dried, burnt and peeled, the branches
(‘ardentes’ or ‘gancios’) were used for lighting when there was no other fuel (Lu). The
burning branches were employed for scorching (‘socarrar’) the skin of wild boar
(‘guarro’) to clean it of hairs (Ba) . Branches are also used in bread ovens, the stumps
being preferred in kitchens (Lu). Used for making charcoal (M), especially by smiths,
since it is better quality than that obtained from Erica arborea (Sg). The basal parts of
the branches were preferred for this use. This charcoal was used almost exclusively in
forges, being the only one valid for sharpening (‘abuzar’) the harrow (‘cavaeras’) due
to its high calorific power. The charcoal was made by charcoal-makers and smiths.
The charcoal stack (‘carbonera’) was made by making a hole (Jjoya’) in a depression in
a piece of open ground. After the surroundings were cleared, the branches were
arranged and a layer of fine, pebble-free soil was laid over it. The charcoal stack was
kept burning for two or three hours. The resulting charcoal was spread with a stick or
hook made of holm oak wood, called a ‘jurga’. This heather burnt badly, lasting two or
three hours and cooling in half an hour (Ba). Highly calorific charcoal was obtained
from the stumps for use in forges by smiths, and in lime ovens (Lu).

54

6. The Sanctuary of Nuestra Senora del Brezo (Our Lady of the Heather) is in northern
Palencia. In keeping with the custom of naming girls after the Virgin, ‘Brezo’ is a
common girl’s name (P).

Erica cinerea L.

2. Considered an excellent melliferous plant. It produces dusky and highly aromatic
honeys (Lu; S). It is readily consumed by livestock (Lu), especially mares, when no
other resource is available (S).

3. Its distillation was reputed to be a good diuretic. The flowers were macerated with
olive oil to cure rheumatism. As a poultice made with the same clay used for tiles and
pottery, it was finely crushed and mixed with garlic, eggs and onion (S). The flowers
help to maintain the right cholesterol level (Lu).

4. Used for dyeing (P) and for fires although it has a tendency to produce too many
sparks. The stumps are used as firewood (S).

5. Schoolchildren make bouquets out of this plant (Lu), and women gather it for making
dry bouquets (S).

7. Used as cattle bedding (S).

Erica erigena R. Ross
3. Used as an astringent (Mu).

Erica multiflora L.

2. It is a valuable melliferous plant (Cs).

3. Used as a diuretic and galactotropic (Mu). The distillation of the aerial parts, dissolved
at 2%, is employed as a diuretic and for losing weight. The distillation of the leaves
and the finely triturated bark of the stem, dissolved at the same rate, reduces blood
pressure (Cs).

4. It is suitable for making brooms (B).

Its timber is used for making fire although the flowers, when burnt, produce a
characteristic sparking, said to send people to sleep (Cs).

5. Used in jars as a decoration (Cu).

Erica scoparia L.

4. This is the best species for broom making (Ma). In Barcelona, it was very common in
the area of countryside belonging to the religious order of the Hyeromites (‘Jer6nimos’),
and is used in stacks for burning, known locally as dinadas (Quer).

Erica tetralix L.

2. ‘Le gusta al ganao, lo castiga mucho. [Cattle like it, they won’t leave it alone]’. Goats
consume it avidly (Ba; CR).

4. Hard, resistant and long-lasting it is used for making long brooms that were used to
sweep stable yards (Ba; CR). Used for covering carts full of charcoal made from its
roots (Quer).

55

Erica umbellata L.
2. It is a valuable melliferous plant (Ba).
4. The stumps were used for making charcoal (P).

Erica vagans L.

2. It is a valuable melliferous plant (S). Livestock may eat it, especially mares (S), in
periods of scarcity, when they are tender.

4. This species is preferred for making brooms to clean stables (S).

Used for making fire. The stumps are used as firewood (S).

7. Used as cattle bedding (S).

Erica sp.

2. ‘Las abejas hacen gran cosecha de las flores, pero la miel no es la mds apreciable por su color
amarillo y consistencia de jarabe. [Bees make large amounts of honey from their flowers,
but it is not the most highly appreciated because it is very yellow and a syrupy
consistency]’ (Quer).

3. According to Tournefort, the distillation of this species was reputed to be a good
diuretic. According to L’Ecluse, the essence of the flowers was used to cure facial herpes.
According to Tabernamontanus, steam baths using the leaves and flowers were
supposed to mitigate the discomfort caused by gout (Quer).

4. Used for natural roofing under branches of Cytisus scoparius (As). Used for making
charcoal. The charcoal stacks were arranged in a 0.5 m-deep, 1 m-diameter hole. This
formed the oven, the floor of which was covered with stone or very small branches,
and later filled to a height of 1 m with stumps. It was then lit and the oven was covered
with stones or grass, with soil over everything. This activity ceased in 1965 (Gu). The
main portion of charcoal used in forges and similar occupations was made from heather
stumps (Quer). Heathers are used for dyeing leather (S).

Conclusions

Several popular names exist in Spain for these plants, some being very local
while others are generics. They provide a measure of the ethnological richness
associated with the information about, and uses of heathers in Spain. The
most common uses are technological (see Table 2), for making charcoal,
firewood, brooms or roofs, timber for handicrafts and, above all, tobacco pipes.
The next most important uses are as a foodstuff and as a melliferous plant.
Medicinal and veterinary uses come third. We hope to continue gathering
information in order to produce a more extensive work, which should include

Portugal and the Canary Islands.

56
References

BAYER, E. & LOPEZ GONZALEZ, G., 1989. Los brezos espanoles. Quercus 35: 21-36 (Cu; Ma).

BLANCO, E., 1996. El Caurel, las plantas y sus habitantes. Estudio etnobotanico de la Sierra del Caurel
(Lugo). Fundacion Caixa Galicia (Lu).

BLANCO, E., 1998. Diccionario de etnobotdnica segoviana. Pervivencia del conocimiento sobre las plantas.
Segovia (Sg).

BLANCO, E. & CUADRADO, C., 2000. Etnobotdnica en Extremadura. Estudio de la Calabria y La
Siberia extremenas. Madrid, Emilio Blanco (Ba; CR).

BONET, M. A., 1993. Etnobotdnica de la Vall del Tenes (Vallés Oriental). Barcelona, Abadia de
Montserrat (B).

CASTELLOTE, E., 1979-1980. Carbon y carboneros en la provincia de Guadalajara. Revista de
Dialectologia y tradiciones populares 35: 187-208 (Gu).

COROMINAS, J., 1980. Diccionario critico etimologico castellano e hispanico 1. A-CA and 5. RI-X.
Madrid, Editorial Gredos.

FAJARDO, J., VERDE, A., RIVERA, D. & OBON, C., 2000. Las plantas en la cultura popular de la
provincia de Albacete. Albacete, Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses (Ab).
FONT QUER, P., 1999. Plantas medicinales. El Dioscorides renovado. Barcelona, Ediciones Peninsula.
GALAN, R., 1993. Patrimonio etnobotdnico de la provincia de Cérdoba: Pedroches, Sierra Norte y Vega
del Guadalquivir. Cordoba, Universidad de Cordoba, unpublished PhD dissertation (Co).
GOMEZ ORTEGA, C., 1784. Continuacion de la Flora Espariola o Historia de las plantas de Espana,
que escribia Don Joseph Quer 5. Madrid, Joachin Ibarra (Quer).

GUZMAN, M. A., 1997. Aproximacion a la etnobotdnica de la provincia de Jaén. Granada, Universidad
de Granada, unpublished PhD dissertation (J).

LASTRA, J. J. & BACHILLER, L. I., 1997. Plantas medicinales en Asturias y la Cornisa Cantabrica.
Gijon, Ediciones Trea (As).

MULET, L., 1991. Estudio etnobotanico de la provincia de Castellon. Castellon, Diputacion de Castellon,
Servicio de Publicaciones (Cs).

ORIA DE RUEDA, J.A., DIEZ, J. & RODRIGUEZ, M., 1996. Guia de las plantas silvestres de Palencia.
Palencia, Calamo (P).

RAMON-LACA, L. & MORALES, R., 2000. Heathers from Spain and Portugal in Charles de
L’Ecluse’s works. Yb. Heather Soc. 2000: 81-88.

RIVERA, D & OBON, C., 1991. La guia de Incafo de las plantas titiles y venenosas de la Peninsula
Ibérica y Baleares (excluidas medicinales). Madrid, INCAFO.

RIVERA, D., OBON, C., CANO, FE. & ROBLEDO, A., 1994. Introduccion al mundo de las plantas
medicinales en Murcia. Murcia, Ayuntamiento de Murcia (Mu).

VILLAR, L., PALACIN, J. M., CALVO, C., GOMEZ, D. & MONTSERRAT, G., 1987. Plantas
medicinales del Pirineo Aragonés y denis tierras oscenses. Huesca, Diputacion de Huesca & C.S.LC.
(Hu).

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. Emilio Blanco for kindly loaning us some photographs and Lesley
Ashcroft for checking the English.

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 57-60.

Thomas Albert Julian (1908-2001)

<<,

Albert Julian initially lived in Leicester, where he attended Alderman Newton’s
Grammar School. At this time his ambition was for a job working with
telephones. On leaving school he became a trainee engineer with the Post
Office, but was deeply disappointed when he was forced to leave after two
years, when it was found that he had a heart condition, for which he took
medication for the rest of his life.

Albert then joined GEC at their telephone works in Coventry, but his great
interest in radio lead to a change in career direction, and he was soon working
with domestic wireless and the synchronisation of gramophone records with
silent films to give talking pictures.

58

In 1934 he set up the radio service department and special electronic
products unit for GEC in London. During this period he designed and
produced three high fidelity radio receivers for the Royal Train that was in
use at the time. The train was taken from Wolverton to Euston especially for
him to test them. One can still be seen in a carriage preserved in the Railway
Museum in York.

He also worked with experimental high definition television and in 1936,
when the BBC started its service from Alexandra Palace, he installed the first
commercial television in a shop (Alderton’s) in Edgware Road. A world first.

During the Second World War he was involved with the production of
communication and sound equipment for RAF aerodromes, and in repairing
equipment at RAF Coltishall during the Battle of Britain. Then he joined the
bomb disposal scientists designing bomb location and disposal devices. The
most notable device could detect mines buried in more than 12 feet of sand.

After the war, he became Radio and Television Service Manager for GEC,
and was on the committee of the Radio Industries Council, which organised
exhibitions at Earls Court. He took exhibits to various world fairs, for example
introducing television to Damascus, Syria in the early 1950s.

A few years before he would reach pensionable age, he moved to Clarke &
Smith as director of their R&D Company, before becoming Chief Engineer
with the parent company. Here he worked with the teams designing the RNIB
Talking Book for the Blind, and on the development of language laboratories.

The base for Albert’s work in London in the 1930s was near Vincent Square,
and he became a regular visitor to the RHS exhibitions.

After the war he had a house built in Surrey that had an acre of land, on
which he planted ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials and fruit trees. The
soil was derived from chalk, consequently he became very familiar with the
problems of growing plants with alkaline root zones.

When he retired, he moved to the north of England, so that he and his wife
could be nearer to their daughter Patricia and her family. He initially lived in
Chinley on the edge of The Peak District, where for a year or two he battled
with a very heavy soil derived from boulder clay.

When his wife died, he moved a few miles from Chinley to live in Whaley
Bridge with his daughter’s family. A short time before Albert moved to Whaley
Bridge, Fred Chapple moved away. Consequently they never met.

It was around this time that he joined the North of England Horticultural
Society, and his great interest in heathers began to flourish. He also had many
other interests. He was a great traveller, and he visited most parts of the world,
some of them several times, where he would make lasting friendships.

59

Albert was a very keen photographer, and for a few years developed his
own colour films. He and someone he met on a visit to Iceland produced
photographs that were used by the Icelandic Tourist Board in their promotional
literature in the 1980s. After visiting Iceland for several years in succession, he
eventually decided that Iceland was too grey, too wet and too cold. He found
the islands of the South Pacific much more to his liking! In the last few years
of his life he travelled less and less because increasing deafness began to cause
problems. |

He had a great interest in the archeology of the Holy Land, and attended
several University of Manchester Extra Mural Courses concerned with that
topic. Anear neighbour for a short time was John Allegro, who was responsible
for the translation of the copper Dead Sea Scroll. But Allegro grew impatient
with the attitude of the rest of the team charged with dealing with the other
scrolls, and left the University of Manchester and Whaley Bridge.

Our lives began to overlap in the early 1970s, when he joined an Extra
Mural course in Horticulture that I had agreed to give in Salford. These courses
gave me the opportunity to talk about new knowledge that was being
produced in Universities and research stations, and to describe my own work.
Some emphasis was placed on current techniques of measuring environmental
parameters.

After one session he suggested that my research could probably benefit
from his knowledge of electronics. He felt that he would benefit from close
contact with an environment of active horticultural research, and he hoped
that it would enable him to keep up with advances in electronics, particularly
the use of new semi conductors that were appearing in increasing numbers.
Over a period of nearly 20 years he produced a range of almost 50 pieces of
equipment for me including devices to switch on the supply of nutrients to
the root systems of plants grown with soil-less culture systems, data loggers,
soil water monitoring equipment, etc., most of which was not available
commercially.

The equipment he produced made it possible for many small research
projects to be carried out by final year students studying Botany and Biology,
and vastly improved the quality of many higher degrees.

During the last quarter of his life he became more and more involved with
heathers. I first became aware of this involvement when he told me about a
cultivar trial he was helping to run at Harlow Carr Gardens, Harrogate. Within
a few years he was running the one-quarter acre plot more or less single-
handed. Weed control had become a major problem, but a phone call to the
now defunct Weed Research Establishment near Oxford, introduced both of

60

us to the recently introduced selective herbicide Casoron. Along with
Gramoxone treatment to paths, he was able to keep down weeds single-
handed.

From his records of the trial came detailed descriptions of many varieties,
which provided the basis for the production of the International Register.

He was responsible for further trials at Harlow Carr. He propagated and
planted heathers in prominent areas of the garden, particularly near to the
entrance, which much to his annoyance had to be replanted three times when
alterations were made to buildings. In my opinion his plants were the best
reason for visiting Harlow Carr. His great efforts there were the eventual reason
why the National Heather Collection was established at Harlow Carr Gardens,
and in 1991 the Northern Horticultural Society presented him with a citation,
medal and honorary membership for his 25 years service as an adviser to the
gardens.

He propagated and planted heathers that flourished for several years at
the Granada Arboretum of the University of Manchester, adjacent to the Radio
Telescope at Jodrell Bank. Their colour made a great contrast to the acres of
trees and was greatly admired by many visitors.

He was a member of The Heather Society for 27 years, and worked his
way through their various committees, becoming an honorary Vice-President
in 1992. He was on the team which designed the heather gardens at RHS
Wisley and acted as consultant to Hazel Huddlestone who designed
Cherrybank Gardens, Perth. He negotiated with Bell’s Whisky for a
studentship to be established at Harlow Carr, enabling a student to work with
heathers. Unfortunately the arrangement lasted for only a few years.

He had a great deal of skill with many things but everything was not always
plain sailing. A large number of the plants he grew in glasshouses at the
University of Manchester and Harlow Carr in containers died as a result of
poor watering. Others that were planted out were lost as a result of the action
of rabbits. But having decided to produce and plant out a given piece of soil,
he would not rest until it was complete. He would often mention times when
people he knew had been ‘let down’. This seemed to stimulate him to even
greater effort to try to compensate for their problems. He always went out of
his way to be sure that he didn’t let anyone down.

Out of his great enthusiasm for travel and heathers he met his second wife,
Jean whom he leaves, as well as his daughter, two grandchildren and four
ereat-grandchildren.

PETER NEWTON

[Photograph of Albert Julian relaxing among conifers in Croatia by courtesy of Mrs Jean Julian]

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 61-62.

Dolf Schumann (1918-2001)

It is amazing how amateurs who
develop a passion for plants can
achieve so much especially when
that passion develops only in the
later years of their lives. Dolf was
such a person.

A. W. 5. “Dolf’ Schumann was
born in Cape Town and received his
training at the Universities of
Stellenbosch and Witwatersrand. He
graduated with degrees in
mathematics, physics, mining and
metallurgy. He then proceeded into
the mining industry spending 17
years in the Copperbelt of the then
Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) where
he gained much experience in the
practical aspects of mining. In 1960
he returned to South Africa and
joined a large mining house in
Johannesburg as their operational
: manager and later their technical
director where he earned the reputation for being a top business manager and
diplomat and a well-liked person.

His time in the mining and business world culminated in his being elected
to the post of President of the Chamber of Mines where he was highly respected
by all in his field including the government. At the time he was also a director
in some 42 companies associated with the mining industry. As a result of all
this work and his contributions in his field he was appointed honorary
Professor of Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch.

In July 1978 Dolf retired from the hectic life of the business world in
Johannesburg to a wonderful apartment overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in
Cape Town. He planned for a quiet restful time with his wife Annie and their
two married children and their grandchildren in Cape Town.

In 1980 while on a visit to a relative in the seaside resort of Hermanus he
was taken ona hike in the mountains and introduced to the local Cape Flora

Fig. 1. Dolf with Erica lageniformis

62

where he was struck by all the wonderful ericas. Afterwards over a beer he
was shown the Erica book by Baker and myself and was “totally bowled over”
by ericas. He decided there and then to make a photographic record of every
species he could find.

At the time I was curator of the National Herbarium in Pretoria and was
contacted by him for advice on how to proceed. Knowing that I would be
returning to the Cape within a year I suggested he meet up with Gerhard
Kirsten who had been collecting and studying ericas for some 15 years. Thus
began a very fruitful partnership between the two of them.

On my return in 1982 I met Dolf for the first time and immediately realised
that he was a person who knew exactly what he wanted to do and how to
achieve it. He had acquired the right apparatus, made lists of all the species
and where he could locate them and had begun his well documented collection
of colour slides. However, he soon realised that it was not all plain sailing —
cetting his slides correctly identified was the biggest hurdle. Fortunately Dolf
recognised that it was vital to back most of his photographs with voucher
specimens that could be correctly identified. Here he found help from Gerhard
Kirsten and later from my wife, Inge, and myself.

Dolf left no stone unturned in his quest for species. Fortunately he had the
time, the financial resources and the motivation to travel widely and to collect
and amass an unequalled collection of colour slides. After only ten years he
had sufficient to warrant the publication of a book which was done in
conjunction with Gerhard Kirsten and myself — Ericas of South Africa (1992)
covering some 465 species. Clearly without Dolf’s passion for ericas this
splendid book would not have seen the light of day.

I value very much the trips we did together in the mountains — he was a
wonderful companion and raconteur. We collected together material of the
species I later named after him, E. schumanni (Yearbook 1998) and, together
with Gerhard Kirsten, their extraordinary new species, E. amicorum (amicorum
= of the friends). Several new species Dolf discovered in the Great Swartberg
with his young botanical companion, Jan Vlok, have just been published
— E. dolfiana and E. chionodes (OLIVER, E. G. H. & OLIVER, I. M. 2001. Five
new species of Erica (Ericaceae) from the Swartberg Range, Western Cape,
South Africa and a note on E. esterhuyseniae. Bothalia 31: 155-16.).

The words written in a popular publication from his mining house on his
retirement are appropriate — “some General Managers inspire affection, some
respect. Schumann inspires love. Many staff members are devoted to him and
some have chosen to join the group just because he was there”. What better
words with which to remember a wonderful gentleman with a deep passion
for ericas.

TED OLIVER

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 63-68.

THE HEATHER SOCIETY’S PROCEEDINGS

30TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE, HEREFORD

Thanks to Phil Joyner, we made our way to Hereford for the 30" Annual
Conference, from north, south, east and west of England, from America,
Norway and even from Poland.

On arrival it was obvious that great care and attention had been paid to all
the usual details of registration and room. Beautiful bowls of heathers were
there to greet us, and it was very easy to slip into conference mode, greeting
people one hadn’t seen since last year, or perhaps for two or three years, and
saying hello to others who had never attended a conference before. As we all
share the same passion for heathers, there is always plenty to discuss.

Time for dinner. We were ushered into our section of the dining room by
our own waiter who soon let us know that he was in charge. He addressed us
in stentorian tones and explained succinctly the routine of the Three Counties
Hotel. This set the tone for a most enjoyable dinner and our waiter made sure
we wanted for nothing.

No time to linger. We all climbed the stairs for the opening of the conference.
Arnold Stow, our Chairman, welcomed us, this being his first time in the Chair |
since his inauguration last year.

He introduced David Scott, our first speaker. David is warden in charge of
Hartlebury Common, which is located near Worcester and covers some 90
hectares. It is considered to be one of the most important heathland site in the
West Midlands. The main feature is dry lowland scrub heath. This supports a
varied growth of heather, gorse and broom. He explained that sand and gravel
had been extensively removed in previous times, the army had formerly held
manoeuvres on the Common and that for a long while rubbish had been tipped
there. It is all credit to the Countryside Services that Hartlebury Common
exists today.

Before the rush to the bar, many people were examining the publications
on all aspects of heathers and their growing which had been set out for
purchase at the rear of the conference room. (There was also a chance to buy
Charles Nelson’s new series on the wild flowers of western Ireland. Should
we ever return to Ireland for another field trip, these books would be a must.)

On Saturday morning everybody tried hard to remember the waiter’s
instructions about breakfast, and having mastered the routine, we were

eventually served. Then we trooped upstairs for an eagerly awaited presentation.

64

Daphne Everett gave us a very
polished talk about the creation (since
1984) and development of the garden
at The Bannut. She and Maurice saw
this as their “piece of heaven”. Not
only did they create a successful
garden for their own use, but they
also ran a wholesale heather business
producing a quarter of a million
plants annualiy. Her hour was soon
up and made us all keen to actually
get there later in the day.

A welcome cup of coffee was
served, and then it was time to board
our luxury coach. Our driver was a
most courteous man with a lovely
local accent. As we pulled away from
a certain set of traffic lights in
Hereford, he was keen to point out
the cannon ball embedded in the city
walls. Did we see it? Some said “Yes!”, [7 3 gg
and others said “Maybel”, and there Fig. 1. John Richards (second left) explaining
would be more chances for those who _ how to grow quality heathers
had missed it.

Our first “port-of-call” was the nursery of John Richards. John took us to a
beautiful reception room where tea and coffee was provided while he explained
in a most amusing way the origins of the nursery and its growth over the
previous 30 years. From humble beginnings — one man and a Honda 50cc
motorbike complete with spade and watering can —it has become a very large
enterprise, specialising in the production of Clematis, heathers, trees and shrubs.
There are from 25 to 40 employees, depending on the time of the year, working
in many large greenhouses and packing sheds.

John told us about meeting J. F Sparkes, and what a thrill it was to meet a
man with a heather to his name. Arnold was able to say that amongst the
people assembled that morning, there were several heather-name owners —
Valerie Griffiths and John Griffiths, Barry Sellers and Charles Nelson — and
Jean Julian (see p. 74). John acknowledged that he was therefore in very august
company. We were then free to wander around the greenhouses and outside
growing areas. All the plants looked wonderful and many people were
exclaiming with pleasure. It was such a shame that we were not allowed to

Fig. 2. Informality returns after the group photograph at The Bannut. [Eileen Petterssen]

purchase a single plant. We understand why as the nursery is purely wholesale.
Maybe it was just as well as there wouldn’t have been room in the coach for
the members. We had to be dragged away.

Next, to a scenic place in the Malvern Hills for our picnic lunch. Some
stayed near the coach, while others took a short walk up the ridge, which
gave a choice of views, although the wind really did make the decision for
most of us. Just below the ridge, out of the wind, made a wonderful place to
munch on the lunch, with the air filled with the seeds of rosebay willowherb
— spread out in front was a magnificent view over Worcestershire. Not much
time to bask in the sun — a quick run up the ridge but the realisation dawned
that the top which we could see was not The Top, so we turned back to the
coach.

It was time for the visit to The Bannut. Maurice and Daphne were waiting
to greet us. We could wander, or sit, or have a guided tour. The photographs
we had seen earlier became reality, and all of us were able to appreciate the
work that had gone into creating this lovely garden. The different “rooms”
were explored and there was great clicking of cameras. Not only were there
many heathers to see, but there was the trusty tractor and other machinery
too. Like many of us, the Everetts said there are just not enough hours in the
day for all of the jobs that need doing. I longed to get shredding for them, to

66

give a hand, as there was a wonderful
pile of material waiting to be returned
to the soil whence it had come.
Maurice and Daphne have several
ongoing projects, one of which is a
delightful willow house, a lovely
secret place where, maybe, should
they ever retire, they will be able to
sit and contemplate.

Tea and cakes had been arranged
in the new tearoom, which also has a
lovely courtyard filled with
interesting plants, and it was such a
pleasure to sit and chat. Two lovely
daughters helped with the teas and
then were pressed into taking the
group photograph in the heather
garden. We felt like stars as repeated
photo-calls were demanded.

Just before we left, Daphne
' announced that there was a gift for
e everybody: “Erica x eraffithsi
‘Jacqueline’, a truly lovely souvenir.
With everyone clutching their precious plant, it was time to board the bus. We
were all most grateful to Daphne and Maurice for showing us the fruits of
their labours, and for the kindness and attention that had been showered on
us all afternoon.

Back to the hotel. Our friendly coach driver pointed out the sights of
Hereford and Worcester with many anecdotes of local life. Another chance to
see the cannon ball, but the lights were green and we sailed passed too quickly.
Another dinner with everyone enjoying excellent food and good company.
Upstairs again, ready for the AGM. Arnold conducted us through all of the
business. He told us of the resignation of Ron Cleevely as Honorary Secretary,
and was able to say that Jean Julian would take his place. Tony Princep gave
an excellent account of the state of our finances and accepted the position of
Honorary Treasurer. This was a big step for him as he says he knows nothing
about heathers — but it became obvious he was willing to learn.

The venue for the 2002 Conference — Gathering — was announced. This
will be in the northeast of England, at a slightly earlier date, 30 August to
2 September, and the base will be the Washington Golf and Country Club,

ee

Fig. 3. A view of the heather garden at Th
Bannut

67

Tyne and Wear. Roy Nichols gave us a brief description of the pleasures that
await us for next year.

There was considerable discussion about the timing and format of future
conferences or gatherings, one suggestion being that they should be held at
18-month intervals, in Spring one year and in the Autumn of the next. This
was debated with mixed enthusiasm, but it was well recognised that falling
numbers do necessitate some rethink of our annual conference.

With the business concluded, it was time for Charles Nelson briefly to
whet our appetites for the heathers of The Azores. He showed us beautiful
photographs of Erica scoparia and Daboecia azorica. Most of us then adjourned
to the bar where we mingled with guests from a wedding reception that was
also taking place at the hotel. A chance to relax and catch up on a year’s
happenings.

sunday dawned, promising another lovely day. Our day started with a
talk by Dr John Griffiths about his work on hybridising heathers. The title
being “An update on hardy heather hybrids”, John gave us a brief history of
heather hybridisation. All this is a hobby for John, but obviously requires a
dedication that he wished to share with us and he encouraged us all to havea
20 ourselves. He showed how he gathers and transfers the pollen. It all looked
so simple.

Another quick cup of coffee and then we were away for our second guided
tour through the countryside of Herefordshire. Travelling on a coach is a
marvellous way of seeing into other peoples’ gardens and certainly the folk of
Hereford seem to tend theirs lovingly. Our driver managed to squeeze the
coach through the narrow entrance of Hartlebury Common, where David
Scott was waiting for us. Recalling the photographs which he had shown us
on Friday night, we set off for a tramp across the Common. Our first view was
of masses of Calluna, still in flower. David showed us some bushes acting as
hosts to red spider mite. Is this a protected species, | wondered? I’m sure that
I’m not the only person in The Heather Society who spends a lot of time trying
to eradicate it. Much of the Calluna was a low-growing type and it was
explained that the genes have altered to accommodate the requirements of
the local habitat. Hartlebury Common is not a flat common, but an extremely
hilly one. So we traversed up hill and down dale eventually arriving at the
piece of wet land, where we found some plants of Erica tetralix. It had beena
fairly dry summer so they had finished flowering.

The only trouble with going down to the wet land was that we had to
come back up the hill to the coach, if we ever wanted to continue our travels.
For one or two of us this was akin to climbing the North Face of the Eiger, yet
everybody managed it in the end. The exercise had given us a healthy appetite

68

and most couldn’t wait to eat their packed lunches and were soon attacking
them on the coach.

A short ride followed to Whit Leng Gardens, which is a showcase for
“Creative Landscapes”, an enterprise belonging to Keith and Franchesca
Southall, who offer a design service for gardens. Their beautiful three-acre
garden is full of mature shrubs, perennials and heathers. Again, like The
Bannut, the garden has been arranged into a series of rooms which lead into
each other in a delightful manner. There were plenty of bubbling water features,
and even a wonderful feature composed of an old bicycle! The camomile lawn
was an experience in itself, giving off such a heady mixture when walked on.
Members were able to wander through at their own pace, admiring the clever
planting combinations. One member even enjoyed a quiet snooze on the grass
ina lovely sunny spot. After our stroll around the garden, there was a welcome
cup of tea and the chance to buy plants from the nursery.

A small and non-scientific survey was conducted into people’s feelings
and reactions to the previous days’ activities. The overwhelming response to
the question “What has been the best part of the Conference?” was “the shared
feeling of friendship”, followed very closely by the visit to The Bannut and
the gift of ‘Jacqueline’. John Griffith’s talk was also much appreciated. But
each time a person was asked “What was good for you?”, the answer came
back, “Meeting the other members of The Heather Society”. So for those of
you who have never attended before, we urge you to come and join us at the
end of August 2002 and experience the wonderful camaraderie that exists
amongst members. You are also able to discuss heather “problems”, and get
new ideas for planting. Everyone is made welcome — novice or expert.

Back to the hotel, where another wedding reception was in full swing, we
were able to comment on the various dresses and headgear! Our weekend
was rounded off with the second Open Forum, when members enjoyed a few
more slides and a discussion on various aspects of heather cultivation. Finally
the Chairman, Arnold Stow, closed the Conference and expressed the hope
that the members had enjoyed the weekend. He looked forward to seeing us
all again in 2002 in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Phil and his gallant band of
organisers must take all the credit for such a wonderful conference.

It is always sad to say goodbye, but we all had to return to our various
parts of the globe. Little did we know what momentous events were to take
place the day after we left Hereford. Our thoughts and prayers go to the
American peoples and especially to all of the members of the American heather
societies. The North American Heather Society held its conference in
Providence, Rhode Island, the following weekend with very reduced numbers.

Susie Kay

Yb. Heather Soc. 2002: 69-73

BOOK REVIEWS & RECENT PUBLICATIONS

NELSON, E. C. 2001. Wild plants of Connemara and West Mayo. Dublin: Strawberry
Tree. Pp 128; colour photographs. ISBN 1-904004-00-8.

NELSON, E. C. 2001. Wild plants of south-western Ireland — Kerry, West Cork and Limerick.
Dublin: Strawberry Tree. Pp 128; colour photographs. ISBN 1-904004-01-6. UK£10, €16
([E£12.50) each. (Available from The Heather Society, or direct from Strawberry Tree,
18 Woodbine Drive, Dublin 5.)

Two new souvenir pocket guides to the wild plants of Ireland appeared this year —
Wild plants of Connemara and West Mayo and Wild plants of south-western Ireland. Their
author is Dr Charles Nelson who published a similar guide called Wild plants of The
Burren and the Aran Islands in 1999.

These beautifully illustrated books will appeal to nature lovers walking or rambling
through those lovely counties and indeed are likely to stir the curiosity of readers and
stimulate many a visit to western Ireland.

Charles Nelson’s special interest in heathers comes out, particularly in Wild plants
of Connemara and West Mayo. Those heather enthusiasts who were so fortunate as to
participate in the Society’s field trip to Connemara in 1995 will find some of the
photographs and text evocative of the exciting trips led by Charles Nelson and David
Small through dramatically beautiful, lush and — that year — sunny peat-lands.

Connemara is renowned for its range of heather species. Besides the three
characteristic heathers of north Europe, the region is home to Daboecia cantabrica, Erica
erigena, E. mackaiana, and the hybrid E. x stuarti.* Dr Nelson also mentions a rare stand
of E. ciliaris and, unsurprisingly, does not give its exact location.

South western Ireland makes up for its lack of exotic heathers with Ericaceous
species such as bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), prickly heath (Gaultheria mucronata) —a
garden escape — and the famed strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo).

More generally, the lists of plants described in the two books are not exhaustive,

but readers may safely rely on the selections made by the author.
Dr Nelson is recognised internationally as an authority on the wild and garden plants
of Ireland. He is widely travelled as a botanist and in particular has a long connection
with the flora of Ireland. His intimate, expert knowledge of the wild plants of western
Ireland is manifest in these publications.

The souvenir guides are truly intended for use in the field and so are conveniently
sized and have tough transparent plastic covers instead of dust jackets. The contents
are organised for easy reference and basically according to the colour of flowers. Purple-
flowered plants are on purple pages, white ones on white pages etc., and one plant per
page.

* Allen Hall contributed excellent close-up photographs of the ovaries of Erica tetralix, E. mackaiana

and E. x stuartii for Wild plants of Connemara and West Mayo. I am pleased, here, to acknowledge again his
collaboration to this book. ECN.

70

Plant descriptions are clear and facilitate quick and easy assimilation of essential
details. These include English, Latin and Irish names of the plant, month of flowering,
description of flower and leaf with measurements and locations where they may be
seen. Each plant description is complemented with a colour photograph taken on-site.
Generally, the photographs consist of close-up pictures of the plants with little or no
backgrounds. But sometimes a view of the setting is also given. For example, a
photograph of a long magenta spike of purple loosestrife is set against a moody view
of Lough Corrib with distant storm clouds gathering over the water. These together
with some general views of mountains and loughs add to the appeal of the books.

I end this review where the books begin, by mentioning the Introductions. These
speak invitingly of localities, and describe the habitats, and climate which make possible
the rich flora of western Ireland. Some wise advice is given on what walks and climbs
are safe.

A. Hall

GOLDBLATT, P. & MANNING, J., 2000. Wildflowers of the fairest cape. Red Roof
Design in association with the National Botanic Institute, Cape Town. Pp 315: 663
colour illustrations. Price US$34.95 (available from Timber Press in UK and USA).
ISBN 0-620-24787-8

GOLDBLATT, P. & MANNING, J., 2000. Cape plants. A conspectus of the Cape flora of
South Africa. (Strelitzia 9.) National Botanic Institute, Cape Town, and Missouri
Botanical Garden, St Louis. Pp743: illustrated. Price US$ 55.00. ISBN 0-620-26236-2.

The first of these volumes is a splendid book illustrated with hundreds of colour
photographs showing the glories of the flora of the south-western extremity of South
Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope eastwards to Swellendam and northwards to
Nieuwoudtville. There are many familiar plants — Amaryllis belladonna, Melianthus major,
etcetera — and many that are simply of stunning beauty. The photographs are of a
consistently high standard — the one of a host of Brunsvigia bosmaniae receding into the
distance is breath-taking. Eighteen Cape species of Erica are represented.

The photographs represent almost 650 species and fill the front two-thirds of the
book. The rest of the book comprises brief descriptive texts for each plant.

This is an excellent book, to be recommended to anyone who is intending to visit
the Western Cape. There is a map showing six areas that the authors consider to be the
best ones for wild flowers: they advise that each demands at least a day to explore. It
may also be recommended to everyone with an interest in the flowers of the Cape
region, some of which are familiar as garden plants, but most of which can only be
appreciated in the wild.

The second volume, Cape plants: a conspectus ..., by the same authors but with
numerous other contributors (listed on p. [3]) including E. G. H. Oliver and I. M. Oliver
who, needless to say, were responsible for the Ericaceae, is much more technical. It is
essentially a descriptive listing of all species known to occur in the Cape Region. The
roster of Erica — now the only genus of the Ericaceae recognized in the region — ranges
over pp 423-452, and includes about 660 species, of which almost 97% (635 species)

LA

are endemic (i.e. found only in the Cape Region, and nowhere else in the world). Erica
is by far the largest genus — the next two are Aspalathus with 272 species, and Pelargonium
with 148 species. Thus Erica species account for more than 7% of the total flora of the
Cape Region.

This Conspectus includes about 9000 species — 69% of these are endemic, an
extraordinarily rich flora. Each species is described very succinctly, the descriptions
including months of flowering, habitats and distribution. When a family comprises
more than one genus, keys are provided to genera. There is an extensive bibliography
and an index to the genera.

Cape plants: a conspectus ... is a work for botanists rather than gardeners. It is the
most up-to-date listing of the flora of the region and as such it is certainly an essential
volume for every botanical institute with links, no matter how tenuous, with that region.
Its importance as a source of information about the flora of the Cape Region cannot be
over-stated.

And, as a pair, these two books form a veritable encyclopaedia, although the
volumes do stand alone. Botanical libraries should have both volumes. Heather
enthusiasts will be content with Wildflowers of the fairest cape by itself, unless they have
an overwhelming passion for Cape species.

E. C. Nelson

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

ANONYMOUS, 2000. Cape Ericas. Consumer house & garden no. 57 (May): 28-29.

A New Zealand publication; the article deals with growing Cape ericas and

illustrates a few cultivars.

ANONYMOUS, 2001. Airbase to green space. English Nature magazine no. 53 January): 9.
Restoration of Greenham Common (a former US airbase in southern England: “As
well as heather [Calluna vulgaris: pictured] there are seven species of orchid, dwarf
gorse and dense silky bent ...”.

ANONYMOUS, 2001. Habitat restoration: The return of the native Dorset heath. English

Nature magazine no. 54 (March): 6-7.

Restoration of heathland, “immortalised in classics”, Hardy’s Egdon Heath: “Dorset

heath still account for some 11 per cent of the remaining lowland heathland in

Western Europe.

ANONYMOUS, 2001. Habitat restoration: The Upland challenge. English Nature

magazine no. 55 (May): 6-7.

Restoration recommendations: heather on Skiddaw, Cumbria, illustrated.
BANNISTER, P. & POLWART, A., 2001. The frost resistance of ericoid heath plants in
the British Isles in relation to their biogeography. Journal of biogeography 28: 589-596.
CARNELLI, A. L.. MADELLA, M. & THEURILLAT, J.-P, 2001. Biogenic silica production
in selected alpine plant species and plant communities. Annals of botany 87: 425-435.

Calluna vulgaris among the species studied.

72

COOK, D., 2001. A palette of heather. Garden, deck & landscape 5 (3, Fall): 42-47, 100. (A
Better homes & gardens special interest publication)
Gives non-heather growers an introduction to the value of using heaths and heathers
in the landscape. Concise treatment of the world of heathers includes a representative
sample of cultivars presented in chart form to highlight their individual characteristics,
suggestions for landscape use, cultural requirements, and a liberal sprinkling of color
photographs. An excellent introduction to heather growing, including a strong
emphasis on foliage color. Mentions Karla Lortz’s nursery in Washington State, USA.

[E. M. Wulff]

COVENEY, S. & O’ DONOVAN, G., 2001. The potential of LANDSAT Thematic
Mapper satellite imagery as a tool for assessing degradation of blanket bog and wet
heath. Tearmann: Irish journal of agri-environmental research 1: 65-77.

Survey of County Mayo, Owenduff/Nephin Special Areas for Conservation.
DURBIN, B., 2001. Chefs-turned-brewers put beer on their plates. The Oregonian March
2001: FD1 & FD.

About the Spring Beer & Wine Festival held in Portland, Oregon. Mentions heather

flowers (appear to be Erica carnea in photo with article) as an ingredient in a salad

created by chef Keith Erickson of the DoubleTree Hotel, Lloyd Center. Dressing
for the salad was a heather ale vinaigrette, and the salad was served with the ale.

[E. M. Wulff]

DUNFORD, B. & FEEHAN, J., 2001. Agricultural practices and natural heritage: a
case study of the Burren Uplands, Co. Clare. Tearmann: Irish journal of agri-environmental
research 1: 19-34.

Calluna vulgaris present in heath-type vegetation: mentioned inter alia.

GALE, R. & CUTLER, D., 2000. Plants in archaeology. Identification manual of artifacts of
plant origin from Europe and the Mediterranean. ISBN 1-84103-00203. Otley & Kew:
Westbury Publ. & Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Massive tome with microphotographs of sections of wood; Calluna vulgaris, Erica

arborea, E. cinerea and E. tetralix. Records an Iron Age basket made from heather

shoots from Orkney, and a 5" millennium Bc pit prop made from a stump of Erica
arborea found in a Spanish mining complex.
HALL, C., 2001. Turning up the heaths. Horticulture December: 49, 75.

Mentions Karla Lortz’s nursery in Washington State, USA.

HARVEY, G., 2001. Don’t mention the war. The National Trust magazine no. 94 (Autumn):
44-48.

Heathland, “the creation of man in his environment”: Dunwich Heath, Suffolk.
LOUGHREY, J., 2001. Homes and gardens of the Northwest. The Oregonian, 1
February 2001.

Mentions Karla Lortz’s nursery in Washington State, USA.

LOVEJOY, A., 2001. Northwest Gardens. Seattle Post-Intelligencer 26 April.

Mentions Karla Lortz’s nursery in Washington State, USA.

NAPREENKO, M. G., 2001. On the distribution of Erica tetralix (Ericaceae) in the
Kaliningrad region (European Russia). Botanicheskii zhurnal 86: 150-153.
Distribution of cross-leaved heath, in Russian.

73

NELSON, E. C., 2001 (“2000”). A heritage of beauty. The garden plants of Ireland. An

illustrated encyclopaedia. Dublin: Irish Garden Plant Society. Pp xx, 348; illustrated in

colour and monochrome. ISBN 0-9515890-1-6. Price € 41 (€ 50 packing and postage
included), UK£ 33 (may be obtained from IGPS, c/o National Botanic Gardens,

Glasnevin, Dublin 9: add £5 for postage & packing).

A comprehensive listing, with descriptions and histories, of gardens plants that
originated in Ireland, or which have explicit Irish connections ranging from the
Irish yew, Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, to (for example) Erica tetralix ‘Curled
Roundstone’. More than 3500 cultivars are given detailed entries, and a further
2000 plants are listed by name only; around 200 plants are illustrated. Calluna,
Daboecia, and Erica are represented, of course, and some of the heather cultivars
are illustrated. For reviews see e.g. Curtis's botanical magazine 18 (4) (November
2001), Plant heritage 8 (1) (Spring 2001).

O’DONOVAN, G., 2001. Productivity, grazing pressure and phenology of a limestone

grassland in the Burren National Park, Co. Clare. Tearmann: Irish journal of agri-

environmental research 1: 35-54.

Calluna vulgaris mentioned inter alia; note on its flowering period in The Burren, and
interesting data of the predominant flower-colour in grassland during the year.
OLIVER, E. G. H. & OLIVER, I. M., 2000. Three new species of Erica (Ericaceae) from

Western Cape, South Africa. Bothalia 30: 147-153.

Describes E. rusticula, E. humidicola and E. rimarum.

OLIVER, E. G. H. & OLIVER, I. M., 2001. Four new species of Erica (Ericaceae) from

Western Cape, South Africa. Bothalia 31: 1-8.

Describes E. richardi, E. anemodes, E. limnophila and E. viminalis (unfortunately, an
invalid name that will have to replaced).

OLIVER, E. G. H. & OLIVER, I. M., 2001. Five new species of Erica (Ericaceae)

from Swartberg Range, Western Cape, South Africa and a note on E. esterhuyseniae.

Bothalia 31: 155-165.

Describes E. dolfiana (after Dolf Schumann), E. taylorit, E. chionodes, E. oreotragus
(syn. E. esterhuyseniae Compton var. trimera Compton) and E. blaerioides and discusses
the correct identity of E. esterhuyseniae.

ROURKE, J., 2000. A passion for proteas. The botanical art of Louise Guthrie. Veld &

flora 87 (3): 120-123.

Biography of Isobel Louise Sophie Guthrie (1879-1966), who described several species
of Cape Erica species. Her father, Professor Frank Guthrie, was Harry Bolus’ collaborator
on the account of Erica published in Flora Capensis.

SMALL, D. & SMALL, A., 2001. Handy guide to heathers. 3rd edition. Creeting St. Mary:

The Heather Society Pp 178: colour illustrations. ISBN 0-9539079-6-1. Price £12.05 (p&p

included). Available from The Heather Society.

This hardly needs any comment — indispensible!

SPIELBERG, S., 2001. Dig it. The National Trust magazine no. 95 (Summer): 34-37.
Report on National Trust’s own peat-free compost; “Ericaceous shrubs — particularly
rare varieties of rhododendrons — were disappointing in the peat-free mix, and no
better in reduced-peat blend ...”.

74

Supplement to International register of heather names — I (2002)

Registered cultivars

Jean Julian — Erica x williamsii ‘Jean Julian’

Registered on 1 November 2001 by David Small. Registration no. 167

* Flowers H8, single, July-October; foliage mid-green tipped yeilow for most of the summer; compact,
semi-prostrate, to 10cm tall in 2 years.

@ Wild-collected; twelfth clone; found by Jean Julian on 9 September 1999 at Kynance Cove, The Lizard,
Cornwall. The surrounding vegetation was low grass with E. tetralix. There was little E. vagans.

(1) Published here.

@ Named after the finder, currently Honorary Secretary of The Heather Society.

Joan Graham — Erica vagans ‘Joan Graham’

Registered on 1 February 2001 by Mr M. Nicholson. Registration no. 165

# Flowers white to lilac (H4) with red/crimson petal edges turning brown; with green foliage. Upright,
large,self-branching.

@® Chance seeding; raised by M. Nicholson; found in a tray of seedlings set from capsules from
‘Mrs D. F. Maxwell’; the other parent was possibly ‘Lyonesse’. Outgrew the other 50 seedlings and was
covered in flowers; bloomed for first time in September 2000.

(1) Published here.

@® Named after Mrs Nicholson (her maiden name).

Lila Fee — Erica cinerea ‘Lila Fee’

Registered on 14 December 2001 by Kurt Kramer. Registration no. 168

* Flowers lilac: July-August; with dark green foliage. Habit compact, upright.

aoa. selection Bon a sequence of seedlings from a deliberate cross by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany).

ik Der Heidegarten 50: Rretieloukon (2001).

Neptune — Erica cinerea ‘Neptune’

Registered on 27 October 2001 by Edith M. Davies. Registration no. 166

* Flowers cerise (bright pink-red), in upright, cylindrical spikes to 4ins long, with green foliage. Habit
24ins x 24ins.

@ Seedling: growing within 200ft of the Pacific Ocean on Neptune Avenue, Fort Bragg, California; first
observed in October 1996.

Li) Published here.

@® Named after the place where it was found.

Roter Kobold — Erica cinerea ‘Roter Kobold’

Registered on 14 December 2001 by Kurt Kramer. Registration no. 169

* Flowers pink-red: July-August; with dark green foliage. Habit upright.

@ Seeding; selection froma sequence of seedlings froma deliberate cross by Kurt Kramer (Edewecht, Germany).
(1) Der Heidegarten 50: Heidelexikon (2001).

A Der Heidegarten 50: Heidelexikon (2001).

Spanish Lime — Erica arborea ‘Spanish Lime’

Registered on 18 February 2000 by D. C. McClintock. Registration no. 164

# Yellow-green (RHS 145A) foliage; height 2 metres after 15 years.

@® Wild-collected foliage-colour sport on E. arborea; found by E. C. Nelson, D. J. Small and D. McClintock,
26 July 1982, at Puerto de Piedras Luengas (Alto de Campoo), Palencia, Spain. Propagated by D. J. Small
(nursery code: DHN 27/82). Introduced commercially by William Dyson, Great Comp, c. 2000.

£1) Published here.

@® Alluding to country of origin and the foliage colour.

THE HEATHER SOCIETY

Chairman:(email: ajs@widmour.freeserve.co.uk)

Mr A.J. Stow: Widmour, Limmer Lane, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP12 4OR
Secretary and Slide L:ibrarian: (email: jeanjulian@zetnet.co.uk)

Mrs J. Julian: Matchams, Main Street, Askham Richard, YO23 3PT.

Treasurer: (email: Anthony.Princep@sourceuk.net)

Mr. A. Princep: 22 Hornby Drive, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 6JP

Registrar and Editor of Yearbook: (email: registrar@zetnet.co.uk)

Dr. E.C. Nelson: Tippitiwitchet Cottage, Hall Road, Outwell, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire,
PE14 8PE

Editor of Bulletin: (email: everettbannut@zetnet.co.uk)

Mrs D. Everett: The Bannut, Bringsty, WR6 5TA.

Administrator: (email: heathers@zetnet.co.uk)

Mrs A. Small: Denbeigh, All Saints Road, Creeting St Mary, Ipswich, IP6 8PJ.

Editor of Yearbook

Dr. E. Charles Nelson
Tippitiwitchet Cottage
Hall Road
Outwell
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE14 8PE
Tel: 01945 773 057 Fax: 01945 774 077
e-mail: tippitiwitchet@zetnet.co.uk

All material for the 2003 issue of the Yearbook of The Heather Society
must reach the Editor not later than 31 October 2002.
Articles may be submitted by e-mail.

DATES OF PUBLICATION OF YEARBOOKS

1997: 7 March 1997
1998: 18 February 1998
1999: 15 March 1999
2000: 19 March 2000
2001: 13 March 2001

Handy guide to heathers (3° ed) (2001): 15 December 2001

YEARBOOK OF THE HEATHER SOCIETY
2002
CONTENTS

In memoriam David McClintock (1913-2001)

Tribute by E. C. Nelson and D. J. Small

Tribute by Pamela Lee

Bibliography of David McClintock

Heathers associated with David McClintock
David McClintock: News of Erica sicula in Sicily

Ella May Wulff The accidental heather garden
J. Prothero Tubie test-ing in British Columbia
EG. H. Oliver & I. M. Oliver
A new rock-loving species of Erica from the
eastern Swartberg, South Africa
Allen Hall The hardiness of some of the less familiar
heathers in the English Midlands
P. Medagli & Livio Ruggiero
Wild heathers of Apulia (Southern Italy)
_M. Pardo de Santayana, L. Ramon-Laca & R. Morales
Traditional uses for heathers in Spain

Obituaries Thomas Albert Julian (1908-2001): Peter Newton
Dolf Schumann (1918-2001): E. G. H. Oliver

THE HEATHER SOCIETY’S PROCEEDINGS 2001
30th Annual Conference

BOOK REVIEWS & RECENT PUBLICATIONS
International register of heather names. Supplement I

NEW SPECIES NAMED IN THIS ISSUE

Erica jugicola E. G. H. Oliver & I. M. Oliver

Website: www.heathersociety.org.uk

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