Heath Family (Ericaceae)

Species in the heath family are prominent in some types of habitats in North America, particularly in forests, shrubby places, bogs, and alpine and arctic tundras. The most important of the North American heaths are described below.

The most diverse group is the blueberries and cranberries (Vaccinium spp.), the delicious fruits of which are often gathered and eaten fresh or used in baking and jams. Widespread species include the blueberry (V. angustifolium), hairy blueberry (V. myrtilloides), tall blueberry (V. corymbosum), farkelberry (Vaccinium arboreum), deerberry (V. stamineum), bog-bilberry (V. uliginosum), (V. macrocarpon), and small cranberry or lingonberry (V. oxycoccos). Huckleberries also produce edible, blueberry-like fruits, including the black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), dangleberry (G. frondosa), and dwarf huckleberry (G. dumosa).

Various species of rhododendrons occur in North America, especially in moist or wet forests, heathy shrublands, and bogs in the eastern part of the continent. The white laurel or rose bay (Rhododendron maximum) grows as tall as 32.8 ft (10 m), and has beautiful, large-sized, white or rose-colored flowers. The red laurel or rose bay (R. catawbiense) grows to 19.7 ft (6 m), and has A rhododendron. JLM Visuals. Reproduced with permission.
beautiful, lilac or purple flowers. Shorter species include the pinksterflower (R. nudiflorum), mountain-azalea (R. roseum), swamp-azalea (R. viscosum), flame-azalea (R. calendulaceum), and rhodora (R. canadense). The California mountain laurel (R. californicum) is native to coastal forests of the western United States.

Various species of the heath family are commonly known as "wintergreens," because their foliage stays green through the winter, becoming photosynthetic again in the following spring. The shinleafs or wintergreens include Pyrola americana and P. elliptica, and occur in forests. One-flowered wintergreen (Moneses uniflora) occurs in damp forests and bogs. The spotted winter-green (Chimaphila maculata) and pipsissewa or prince's pine (C. umbellata) occur in dry woods, especially on sandy soils. The common wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is a common, creeping species of the ground vegetation of coniferous and mixed-wood forests of eastern North America, while shallon (G. shallon) is a shrub of Pacific forests.

The May-flower or trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) is a low-growing, attractive, fragrant wildflower, and one of the first species to bloom in the springtime. The bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a low-growing, evergreen shrub, especially common in open, sandy woods.

Labrador-tea (Ledum groenlandicum) is a shrub that grows in northern forests, tundras, and bogs of North America and Eurasia. Laurels are shrubs with attractive flowers, including the mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and sheep-laurel (K. angustifolia). The madrone or arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) is a beautifully red-barked tree of the Pacific coast.

The Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) and pinesap (M. hypopithys) occur widely in rich woods in North America, and also in Eurasia. These species lack chlorophyll, and their tissues are a waxy, whitish yellow or sometimes pinkish in color, and the plants are incapable of feeding themselves through photosynthesis. Instead, they are parasitic on their mycorrhizal fungus, which provides these plants with organic nutrients through the saprophytic food web, which derives its flow of fixed energy from the decay of organic litter and detritus. Other chlorophyll-lacking, parasitic species include pine-drops (Pterospora andromeda) and sweet pinesap (Monotropsis odorata).

Several Eurasian species have been introduced as horticultural plants and have established wild, self-maintaining populations, although none of these has become extensively invasive in North America. These include the purple-flowered Scotch heather (Calluna vulgaris) and several species of true heath, including Erica tetralix.