Heather

Purple swathes of heather bloom in late summer in pinewoods and on heaths – and give September its Polish name, wrzesień.

Heather is an evergreen dwarf shrub usually growing to 20–60 cm, with tiny, scale-like leaves packed densely in four rows along the stems. From August to October it is covered in one-sided spikes of small lilac or pink flowers, which remain on the plant long after flowering. It grows on poor, acidic, sandy soils – in pinewoods, on dunes, peat bogs and heathland, which turns into forest without grazing or mowing. The flowers are a valuable late source of nectar for bees, and dark, jelly-like heather honey is prized by connoisseurs all over Europe.

Significance in the country

The Polish name for September, wrzesień, comes from wrzos, heather, which flowers most profusely at that time, and pots of heather are a typical autumn decoration on Polish balconies and on graves before All Saints’ Day. Poland’s largest heaths developed on former military training grounds, such as the Przemków Heath in Lower Silesia.

Where it grows

Throughout the country on sandy soils – most abundantly in the Tuchola Forest, the Lower Silesian Forest and the Notecka Forest and on former military training grounds; in the mountains it reaches the high pastures and the dwarf mountain pine zone.

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