About Erica grandiflora L.fil.
Erica grandiflora L.fil. is a species in the Erica genus that grows in fynbos on the mainland of the Western Cape, South Africa. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus the Younger in 1782. In 2002, Oliver & Oliver reclassified it as Erica abietina subsp. aurantiaca. More recent phylogenetic analyses using DNA sequence data have shown that E. grandiflora is more closely related to other mainland Western Cape Erica species, including Erica viscaria, than to subspecies of Erica abietina that are endemic to the Cape Peninsula. For this reason, it is currently treated as a distinct separate species. Erica grandiflora contains two subspecies, which are most easily distinguished by their distinct, different flower colours.
