Erica lusitanica is quite invasive, and it seems to do particularly well on clay soils in Wellington. The epithet
lusitanica strictly refers to Portugal, but I guess the species is more widespread than that, so its common name isn't inaccurate.
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| Erica lusitanica, Messines Road, Karori, Wellington. |
They're straggly and untidy plants, yet up close,
Erica lusitanica has a pretty hanging flower that starts out pink and fades to white.
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| Flowers of Spanish heather. |
Weed or wildflower, it does at least provide a habitat for the native
bag moth.
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| Bag moth larva, on Erica lusitanica. |
Erica is, of course, in the family Ericaceae. Also in that family:
Rhododendron, blueberries, and the native
Dracophyllum.
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| A cultivated Rhododendron, Wellington. |
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| Dracophyllum strictum, cultivated |
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| Dracophyllum scoparium, Campbell Island. |
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