Erica arborea (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)

Erica arborea Ericaceae Indigenous

• English: Giant heath
• Amargna: Adale, Asta, Wuchena
• Guragigna: Gederra
• Oromugna: Wadadi, Sato, Labasse
• Tigrigna: Shanto

A large species for this family, typical of African highlands. It grows on dry rocky ground with thin soils in Moist and Wet Dega and Wurch agroclimatic zones, 2,500–3,300 m.

Firewood, charcoal, fodder (leaves, shoots), bee forage, live fence, fencing material (dry branches).

A much-branched evergreen shrub or narrow tree to 5 m.

• LEAVES: Grow closely around the stems as in most heaths, narrow and pointed, grey-green and tough, to 1 cm long. Branchlets hairy.
• FLOWERS: Abundant, white-pink, at the ends of short side shoots. Each flower is like a tiny hanging bell, the purple stigma outside the white flower.
• FRUIT: A capsule containing many tiny seeds.

Seedlings are less successful, wildings may do better.

40,000–50,000 seed per kg.

Coppicing.

Seeds are very tiny and difficult to harvest. Branches are burnt to smoke out new beehives. The branches make a useful fence around homesteads.