It is a shrub or tree which grows in the mountains of eastern and central Africa.

Erica trimera is an evergreen shrub or tree which grows from .4 to 12 meters in height, with a many-branching habit.

It has small leaves, 1 to 7–10 mm long and 0.4 to 1.4 wide, which are generally smooth with tiny hairs along the margins.

[1] Erica trimera is native to the mountains of Eastern and Central Africa, ranging from Ethiopia through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is typically found in the subalpine ericaceous belt, a transitional zone between the Afromontane forests and the higher-elevation Afroalpine grasslands and shrublands, from approximately 3000 to 4000 meters elevation.