Conserving the wealth of species in biodiversity hotspots

The Global Conservation Consortia (GCC) aim to pool efforts and expertise across national boundaries and between disciplines to prevent species extinctions in focal plant groups. GCC Erica coordinates an international response to such threats in the heaths, or heathers, of which hundreds of species are found only in South Africa’s spectacularly diverse Cape Floristic Region […]

Where have the heathers gone?

The heathers or heaths include both the small genera Calluna and Daboecia and the over 800 species of Erica. As Nelson and Pirie write, heathers have gone through phases of popularity in horticulture, including bursts of enthusiasm among gardeners both for Northern Hemisphere (hardy) heathers and the much greater diversity of Southern Hemisphere species. Two […]