Phyllodoce coerulea

Phyllodoce caerulea, known as blue heath in British English and purple mountain heather or blue mountainheath in American English, is an evergreen species of dwarf shrub that grows up to around 15 cm (6 in) tall, and bears clusters of 2-6 purple flowers. It is native to boreal regions around the Northern Hemisphere, but with large gaps in its distribution.

Phyllodoce caerulea is a low shrub, typically growing 5-15 centimetres (2-6 in) high, and exceptionally reaching 25 cm (10 in). Its evergreen leaves are 4-10 mm (0.16-0.39 in) long and 1.7-3.6 mm (0.07-0.14 in) wide, and are borne on 1-millimetre (0.04 in) long petioles; they are arranged alternately.

 

The flowers are borne in clusters of 2-6; each flower is 8-12 mm (0.3-0.5 in) long, with a corolla composed of five fused petals that begin purple, but fade to a bluish pink. These are surrounded by five sepals, and themselves surround the 8-10 free stamens and a superior ovary that produces nectar at its base.