Heather is an evergreen, 30-70 cm tall, dwarf shrub from the heath family. It is commonly found in sandy soils, pine forests, dry shrubs, and clearcuts. The stem is erect, woody, and highly branched.

It blooms from July to September, with flowers often appearing in pale violet, violet-pink, and very rarely in white.

Heather is winter-hardy, surviving temperatures well below -20 °C. It grows individually and in extensive patches in dry pine forests, clearcuts, hills, and acidic, nutrient-poor soils.

In folk medicine, heather is used as a diuretic, for treating kidney and bladder diseases, as a calming agent for neurasthenia and insomnia, and externally for healing burns.

Heather is a nectar plant: during flowering, bee colonies deliberately place their hives near heather.

Information sources: www.latvijasdaba.lv, Wikipedia, https://www.agfonds.lv