Wild Flowers Of Strathclyde Park
  
 

Heather
Calluna vulgaris
of the Heather family
a shrub
20-80 cm high
blooms June - September
likes moors, bogs, heaths, banks, road-sides
can be seen at the Visitor Centre

    
The plant's scientific name Calluna derives from the Greek 'to brush' - bunches of heather were tied together and used as a broom. Ancient peoples used heather in basket weaving, thatching, bedding and even in the walls of crofts. Heather flowers are commonly purple in colour, but less common is white heather - traditionaly considered to be 'lucky'
.