Erica is a low-growing, spreading subshrub, reaching 10-25 cm in height. Its leaves are evergreen, needle-shaped, 4-8 millimeters long, borne in whorls of four. The flowers are produced in racemes in late winter to early spring, and the plants often begin to bloom while still covered with snow. The individual flower is in the form of a slender bell-shape, 4-6 millimeters long, dark reddish-pink, rarely white.