Known as tree heather, it grows up to 3m tall on acidic soils. It is suitable for exposed coastal gardens and nutrient-poor slate slopes in southern Portugal. It is covered with white flowers in winter and spring and is a valuable source of nectar for honeybees.

One of the most widespread heathers, from the Canary Islands and Madeira through the Mediterranean and North Africa to the eastern Black Sea, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, central Sahara, Ethiopia and East Africa.

The burl wood (the underground wood between the roots and the trunk) is reddish brown, textured, extremely hard and heat resistant. It was once used to make smoking pipes. The burl wood was taken from a mature shrub, 30-60 years old, then boiled and dried for several months before further processing.

It is a species that is able to regenerate after wildfires, and due to climate change, international research has begun to take an interest in fire-tolerant plants (fire-tolerant, they are not resistant, they will burn!), including Erica arborea. Studies of these plants, which are able to regrow after a fire, have shown that their special advantage lies in a structure between the stem and the roots that is rich in starch and buds. This structure is called the lignotuber. It has been found in 14 species typical of Mediterranean scrub, including Arbutus, Phillyrea, Quercus suber, Juniperus oxycedrus, Tetraclinis articulata and Viburnum tinus.