Ericaceae
Heather Family
The Ericaceae family (Heather Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Ericales. In the SASYA catalogue it spans 4 species across 3 genera. Members range from shrubs to trees. Well-represented genera include Rhododendron, Gaultheria and Vaccinium. Familiar examples include Indian winter Green, Rhododendron arboreum subsp. nilagiricum and Nilgiri Rhododendron.
Browse all 4 species ↓
Small, often leathery, evergreen leaves on shrubs adapted to acidic, nutrient-poor soils; urn- or bell-shaped flowers fuse their petals into a tube and release pollen through small pores at the anther tip rather than a simple slit.
Roots throughout the family form a specialised partnership with mycorrhizal fungi that lets them extract scarce nutrients from acidic soils most other plants cannot use.
Which Ericaceae species is this?
Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Ericaceae species.
Typical leaf characters
- ArrangementVariable
- TypeVariable
- MarginVariable
- VenationVariable
Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.
Typical flower & fruit
- Flower symmetryZygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- InflorescenceVariable
- FruitBerry
Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.
Notable members
All 4 species in ERICACEAE
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