In the Field: Heather Sparsa

Another beautiful sunny day, and just on the way out of the office for a field trip, all good things for keeping creative floral inspiration flowing, and you may have noticed that here, lately, it has been nearly overflowing, thanks to a wonderful combination of raindrops and sunshine!

This field trip is all about Heather Sparsa!

Heather Sparsa or sometimes called ker-ker or Pink-smoke heath is a fynbos shrub that produces masses of small, pale rosy pink to white flowers in early winter, that turn the whole bush pink completely obscuring the leaves. And, when held in the palm of your hand, the delicate stem has the texture of velvet.

Its common name ker-ker is mimicking the sound made when walking through and brushing past the plants. Pink-smoke heath refers to the way the flowers cover the upward-pointing flowering branches, making them look like plumes of pink smoke rising up.