Erica studies

Cross-leaved heath, Erica tetralix

At Foulshaw Moss the  pink flowers of cross-leaved heath  fade to tawny-orange​ as seed-heads form.   A terminal compact cluster of flowers on long, straggly stems with whorls of four tiny linear leaves of pale greyish-green.  In this image cross-leaved heath shows distinctly against a backdrop of heather with pale purple flowers. Heather or ling  is extensive here at Foulshaw, spreading over the raised mire with bog myrtle shrubs.   
Cross-leaved heath favours wetter areas of peat and can often be found in watershed zones.   Here at Foulshaw both ericas  show distinctly, so it's the perfect opportunity to look closely at their structures.
To show something of ericas at different seasons I search my photographic archives for images from a range of different locations.

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 Dates of images give an idea of how ericas look through different seasons
Cross-leaved heath, Erica tetralix
Heather, ling, Calluna vulgaris
Bell heather, Erica cinerea 
7 September 2023 Images from Foulshaw Moss ( 6 images above) 
10 July 2015  Cross-leaved heath and Bell heather.  Loch Sgiopoirt  South Uist,  Outer Hebrides 
15 September 2022 Yorkshire Dales, Bell heather, Erica cinerea 
​15 August 2010 Cross-leaved heath,  Bell heather, Ling.   Lingmoor 
4 August 2014 Cross-leaved heath ,  Simpson Ground  
24 November 2016 Cross-leaved heath  in frost, Walla Crag   

Can you identify Erica tertralix before its flowers open?  On 10th July 2015 on South Uist, the Outer Hebrides,  Erica tetralix was in bud and its first fresh flowers were opening.  The stems of the flower look pinkish, the sap rising.   Close by, on the rocky ground it favours, is Erica cinerea, Bell heather.  Colour changes with changing light and as plants bud, flower and fade. In autumn, there can be tints of colour in tangles of vegetation.  So I choose images where structure shows clearly.  Bell heather favours drier, rockier ground.  Heather or ling is probably the most common and place names sometimes indicate its presence: LIngmoor Fell, Lingy Intake at Smardale Fell.  Cross-leaved heath favours boggier ground but sometimes all three ericas can show interwoven.

Below, 3 images taken on   15 August 2010  Lingmoor
Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix),  Bell heather (Erica cinerea) and Heather or Ling (Erica vulgaris)