Erica cinerea, the bell heather,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe.

It is a low, spreading shrub growing to 15–60 centimetres (6–23+1⁄2 inches) tall, with fine needle-like leaves 4–8 millimetres (1⁄8–3⁄8 in) long arranged in whorls of three.

The flowers are bell-shaped, purple (rarely white), 4–7 mm (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) long, produced in mid- to late summer.

[3] E. cinerea is native to the west of Europe, where it is most abundant in Britain and Ireland, France, northern Spain and southern Norway.

[6] These cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:[7] 'Eden Valley' has lavender flowers shading to white at the base of the corolla and a prostrate habit.