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The Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) belongs to Ericaceae (the Azalea family). It is an evergreen shrub that is found in Western Europe and Central Europe, including Austria and Switzerland. It grows in bogs, moist heaths, and moist coniferous forests, and is 10-25 cm tall. The leaves are linear-lanceolate and flattened, usually in four whorled, and small pink bell-shaped flowers bloom in umbels at the top of the stem from June to September.
Features of this heath
(1) Stamens not protruding from mouth of corolla
(2) Leaves and sepals with long, usually glandular hairs
(3) Flowers in umbel-like clusters, anthers with awn-like appendage (bristle)
(4) Sepals and underside of leaves with short dense hairs as well as glandular hairs
(5) Leaves revolute (rolled back from the tip), obscuring most of the lower side
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