Cross-Leaved Heath

Cross-leaved Heath, Erica tetralix, is one of several wildflowers which have had a very good summer.  It's common across most of West Ardnamurchan, prefers wetter ground, but is absent from high, exposed areas.  In places it's prolific, so it's not one of the area's rarer plants.

It comes in a range of colours, from bright pinks with shades of lilac/purple through to....

....much paler shades, though some of these pale flowers may be the brighter ones fading in late life.

Only in two locations on West Ardnamurchan have we found a white variety.  The first one, which we found a couple of years ago, we have since lost, though we know fairly accurately where it was, so we were thrilled while walking during this summer to find an even larger, thriving patch of white flowers.