Erica cerinthoides leaf margin hairs

Somewhat enlarged, these Erica cerinthoides leaves show ciliate marginal hairs only, whitish and wiry. The hairs are well-spaced, the upper ones longest. Leaf hairiness on E. cerinthoides plants across its large geographical distribution is quite variable… some plants have little or nothing of it. The leaf hairs are sometimes glandular.

The stalkless leaves deviate slightly from linear to lanceolate. The leaf tips are rounded, their texture fleshy and the narrow slit on the lower surface not quite reaching the tip on the leaves in picture (Manning and Helme, 2024; Baker and Oliver, 1967; iNaturalist).