Ericaceae Family description

Plants shrubs, subshrubs, or small trees.

Leaves alternate, opposite or verticillate, simple, without stipules, deciduous or persistent.

Inflorescence of solitary flowers, or axillary or terminal racemes or panicles.

Flowers bisexual, radially to slightly bilaterally symmetric.

Calyx free or adnate to the ovary, 4-5-merous, usually persistent.

Corolla usually united, 4-5-lobed.

Stamens twice as many as corolla lobes, inserted on outer edge of hypogynous or epigynous disk, the anthers 2-celled, usually opening by terminal pores, often awned, the pollen usually of 4 united grains.

Gynoecium of 2, 5, or 10 united carpels and locules, ovary superior or inferior, with 1-many (usually many) ovules in each cell, placentation usually axile, style 1, no style branches.

Fruit a capsule, berry, or drupe.

Ecology: Most members of the family prefer well-drained, acidic soils. Within northern Utah, the family is best represented in the Uintah Mountains because they are granitic in origin and, hence, tend to have acidic soils.

Key to Genera (Northern Utah)

1. Ovary inferior; fruit a berry or drupe crowned by persistent calyx lobes Vaccinium
1. Ovary superior; fruit a capsule, berry, or drupe, not crowned by calyx lobes (2).

2. Corolla of separate petals; leaves usually with yellow resinous dots on the abaxial surface Ledum
2. Corolla of united petals; leaves rarely with yellow resinous dots on the abaxial surface (3)

3. Corolla persistent, enclosing the capsule Erica
3. Corolla deciduous (4)

4. Leaves opposite, with revolute margins Kalmia
4. Leaves alternate or whorled, margins not revolute (5)

5. Calyx small, dry, not surrounding the fruit Arctostaphylos
5. Calyx large, fleshy, surrounding the fruit Gaultheria

Erica

Plants shrubs or subshrubs. leaves usually in whorls of 3-6, short, linear. Flowers usually nodding, 4-merous.

Calyx short; corolla withering but persistent, urceolate to long-cylindrical, stamens usually 8, carpels and locules usually 4.

Fruit a loculicidal capsule.

Erica has about 600 species of shrubs and subshrubs, most of which are native to southern Africa or the Mediterranean.  There are no native species in Utah.

Key to species

1. Stamens exserted; branches becoming prostrate and spreading E. carnea
1. Stamens included; branches erect E. persoluta

E. carnea Shrubs 9-26 cm tall; branches becoming spreading or prostrate. Leaves in whorls of 4, glabrous, glossy. Flowers axillary, solitary or paired, up to 8 mm long; calyx more than half as long as the corolla, corolla cylindrical, anthers dark red, exserted. 

E. persoluta Shrubs 30-60 cm tall; branches erect. Leaves in whorls of 4, glabrous. Flowers in whorls of 4 or more at the ends of short branchlets, to 6.5 mm long. Calyx up to half as long as the corolla; corolla campanulate.