heath, in botany, common name for some members of the Ericaceae, a family of chiefly evergreen shrubs with berry or capsule fruits. Plants of the heath family form the characteristic vegetation of many regions with acid soils, particularly the moors, swamps, and mountain slopes of temperate regions throughout the world and, to a lesser extent, of tropical and subarctic regions (see heath, in ecology). Many species have attractive blossoms and are consequently popular as wildflowers or, when possible, as cultivated ornamentals, e.g., the rhododendron, azalea, mountain laurel (not a true laurel), trailing arbutus, and heather. The bearberry and madroño are sometimes grown for the shiny, leathery leaves typical of the family. Other species valued commercially for their edible fruits include the blueberry, cranberry, and huckleberry. Wintergreen is the source of a flavoring. Sometimes considered a part of the heath family are the pipsissewa and related perennial herbs and the Indian pipe and related saprophytic (nongreen) plants. The common heather—the heather of Scotland—is Calluna vulgaris, sometimes called ling. Native to Europe and Asia Minor, it is now common also in Greenland and in North America. Its multiple branches have been used for brooms. The names heath and heather are often used interchangeably. Although both are somewhat similar low evergreen shrubs of the Old World, heather has short, scalelike, overlapping leaves and a profusion of long-lasting rosy flowers; the true heaths (genus Erica) have needlelike leaves and white, rose, or yellow flowers. Species of this large genus are characteristic of vast moor areas in W Europe and, especially, South Africa and the Mediterranean area. The root of the tree heath (E. arborea), called also bruyère, brier, brierroot, French brier, and other names, is the major source of brier pipes (see Saint-Claude). Heather and a few species of heath are grown as ornamentals; cultivated forms of heather usually have red to purple flowers of a deeper shade than those of the wild types. Other plants of similar habit, particularly those of the same family, are sometimes also called heath or heather. Heath is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae.

heath, tract of open land characterized by a few scattered trees, abundant moss cover, and numerous low shrubs, principally of the heath family (see heath, in botany). In high-latitude regions with minimal variation in climate, the undershrub vegetation may persist indefinitely on shallow, peaty soils rather than undergoing succession to the climax vegetation (see ecology), e.g., temperate forests. Alpine azalea, bearberry, dwarf birch, and some insectivorous plants are among the additional flora found on north-temperate heaths.

Heath, Sir Edward Richard George, 1916-2005, British statesman. Educated at Oxford, he served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, rising to the rank of colonel. He was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1950, and held several posts in the party whip's office (1951-55) before becoming government chief whip and parliamentary secretary to the treasury (1955-59), minister of labour (1959-60), and lord privy seal with foreign office responsibilities (1960-63). In the last capacity he negotiated unsuccessfully for Britain's entry into the European Economic Community (Common Market), a policy to which he remained firmly committed. He was secretary of state for industry and trade and president of the Board of Trade (1963-64) and was elected leader of the Conservative party, then in opposition, in 1965. Heath became prime minister when the Conservatives won the 1970 general election, largely on the issue of the economy. His administration was marked by Britain's entry into the European Community (the successor to the Common Market and the predecessor of the European Union) in 1973, by legislation to restrict immigration from Commonwealth countries, and also by legislation, which proved ineffective, to regulate industrial relations. The intensification of strife in Northern Ireland led to the suspension of the Northern Irish Parliament in 1972. A new provincial assembly and a coalition executive were created (1973), but both proved short-lived. Soaring inflation led Heath to abandon his free-market platform and institute wage and price controls, but the controls worsened the government's relations with the trade unions. A series of major industrial disputes (1973-74) culminated in a confrontation (Nov., 1973-Feb., 1974). The miners' strike so reduced energy supplies that the country was forced to a three-day work week. Heath called an election (Feb., 1974), asking for a mandate for his tough policy toward the unions. He did not receive sufficient support to form a Conservative government and resigned as prime minister. After a second defeat in 1974, Heath lost (1975) the party leadership to Margaret Thatcher. In the 1980s he was a vocal and bitter critic of Thatcher's government; he retired from Parliament in 2001. Heath wrote many books, including Old World, New Horizons (1970), Music (1976), and British Approach to European Foreign Policy (1977). He was knighted in 1992.

Any of the approximately 500 species of low evergreen shrubs that make up the genus Erica, in the heath family, most native to South Africa. Some also occur in the Mediterranean and in northern Europe, and species have been introduced to North America. They have small, narrow leaves arranged in whorls set closely together on the shoots. Some African species are large bushes or trees. The white, or tree, heath (E. arborea) is also known as brier. Some southern African species are cultivated in cool greenhouses and outdoors in southwestern North America.

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(born July 9, 1916, Broadstairs, Kent, Eng.—died July 17, 2005, Salisbury, Wiltshire) British politician, prime minister of Britain (1970–74). He held various government positions after being elected to Parliament in 1950, and after the Conservative defeat in 1964 he became a major opposition figure. As prime minister, he faced the crisis of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, over which he imposed direct British rule in 1972, and won French acceptance of British entry into the European Economic Community. Unable to cope with Britain's mounting economic problems, chiefly rising inflation and unemployment and crippling labour strikes, he was succeeded as prime minister by Harold Wilson in 1974 and replaced as party leader by Margaret Thatcher in 1975. Heath, who was knighted in 1992, remained in the House of Commons until 2001.

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