St Dabeoc's Heath is a small straggly shrub, a form of heather that grows up well through other plants. The drooping flowers are large and rosy purple; they are more spaced out than those of other heathers.
The leaves are dark above and white beneath. The stems are straggly and weak.
St Dabeoc's Heath grows among rocks, by the sides of acid lakes anon heaths. It is prolific in Connemara, in some places growing to the edge of the Atlantic, and is found in Mayo, but more rarely. It is cultivated as a garden plant in many varieties, among them the deep purple-flowered 'Atropurpurea' and 'Alba Globosa' with broad white flowers.
This heath was first discovered in Ireland by Edward Lhuyd on his journey round Ireland in 1700. He learnt that women wore the plant to protect their chastity.
Flowering time is from June to October.
St Dabeoc's Heath is not native to Britain. It grows in western France, north-west and central Spain and north-west Portugal.