The Year of the Heath

Azaleas, mountain laurel, blueberries, and more. They're all heaths. The Maryland Native Plant Society has designated 2013 as the Year of the Heath.

The Ericaceae (heaths) is a relatively large family of flowering plants that include azaleas, blueberries, heathers, rhododendrons, and wintergreens. Most of the species are shrubs or trees, but one group is herbaceous and some of these plants lack chlorophyll. Most of the species in the Ericaceae are sun-loving plants that grow in acid soils. Bogs, pocosins, and moors are some habitats where Ericaceae can be found in abundance. The flowers in the family can be showy and insect pollinated or wind pollinated and brownish in color. Many members of the Ericaceae are important in horticulture (e.g., rhododendrons, azaleas) or in small fruit crops (cranberries, blueberries). Shrubs and trees are the most common growth form in the family, but some species are epiphytes, lianas, or extremely small mat-forming shrubs. Source: http://users.wfu.edu/kronka/kakbek/ericaceae.html. Illustration: mdflora.org.

The list of Maryland heaths below courtesy of the Maryland Native Plant Society.

The highlighted species are found in Cheverly's green spaces. Along the paths in Woodworth Park you will see black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendon nudiflorum). In Cheverly Nature Woods, find spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) and deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum). See the plant inventory for more information.

To see Cheverly's heaths where they live, take a tour of one of our parks, where heaths have been marked. Trail maps showing the markers.