Heather

The purple heathlands that still covered a huge part of Jutland in the 19th century are the landscape of Danish legends and novels.

Heather is a low, evergreen dwarf shrub with tiny scale-like leaves and dense spikes of pinkish-purple flowers that bloom from July to October. It grows on poor, acidic, sandy soils, where it forms extensive heathlands. These communities are largely man-made – for centuries they were maintained by sheep grazing, burning and turf cutting. Heather is a valuable honey plant, and heather honey has a characteristic jelly-like consistency.

Significance in the country

After the loss of Schleswig in 1864, the Danish Heath Society began converting Jutland’s heaths into fields and forest plantations under the slogan “what is lost outwardly must be won inwardly”. The remaining heathlands, such as Hjelm Hede and Randbøl Hede, are now protected.

Where it grows

Mainly in western and central Jutland (the North Jutland, Central Jutland and Southern Denmark regions) on sandy plains and dunes; smaller patches of heathland in northern Zealand and on Bornholm.

According to the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Kew), the species is native to this country. Source and licence

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl) Plants of the World Online (Kew)