Read about Daboecia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Daboecia (after its Irish name, St. Dabeoc's Heath). More commonly spelled Daboecia, and sometimes Dabeocia. Syn., Boretta. Ericaceae. Shrub cultivated for its purple flowers appearing in summer. Low evergreen with alternate entire Lvs. and drooping pedicelled fls. in long terminal racemes: corolla ovoid, contracted at the mouth and shortly 4-lobed, with recurved lobes; stamens 8, included: caps. 4- celled, dehiscent.—One species in W. Eu. This is a very pretty heath-like plant, with purple or white flowers in elegant loose racemes, well adapted for rockeries or borders of evergreen shrubberies. Requires protection North during the winter, and thrives best in a peaty, sandy soil. Propagated by seeds treated like those of Erica, and by cuttings of half-ripened wood under glass.
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Daboecia is a small genus in the family Ericaceae, containing two shrubby species, closely related to the genus Erica.
Daboecia differs from European Erica species in having a deciduous corolla which is substantially larger than the corolla in the same species of Erica. The leaves are always alternate in Daboecia, never whorled. The generic name come from the name of an Irish saint, Saint Dabeoc, but with the two middle vowels reversed.
- Species
- Daboecia azorica, from the Azores.
- Daboecia cantabrica, from western Europe, in western Ireland (counties Galway and southern Mayo), western France, northern Spain, northwest Portugal.
Some botanists regard the genus as monospecific, making the D. azorica a subspecies of D. cantabrica.
St Dabeoc's heath is a popular garden plant and numerous cultivars have been named. Cultivars include selections from the hybrid between the two species, which is named Daboecia x scotica (lists of cultivars are available from the Heather Society).
References
- Oliver, E. G. H. (2000). Systematics of Ericeae. Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium 19.
- Nelson, E. C. (1984). Dabeoc — a saint and his heather. Yearbook of the Heather Society 1984: 41–46.
- Nelson, E. C. (2000). A history, mainly nomenclatural, of St Dabeoc's heath. Watsonia 23: 47–58.