A compact, evergreen shrub with tiny, narrow, dark green leaves. Short clusters of small, purple-pink, bell-shaped flowers (occasionally white).

Provide a photo of the whole plant in its habitat 

This small shrub occurs on thin, acidic, peaty or mineral soils in well-drained situations, on dry heaths, and as an occasional undershrub in open-canopy Pinus sylvestris or Quercus woodland. It is found in some calcareous grasslands that are leached and acidic at the surface.

In flower during July, August and September.

Perennial, evergreen shrub.

Most frequent in the north and west of Britain. E. cinerea has declined in S. England from loss of heathland habitat, and has disappeared from many former 'chalk heath' sites through encroachment of rank grass and scrub following reduction in sheep and rabbit grazing.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland where most recent records are thought to be introductions.

It was on the 2011 VC55 Rare Plant Register (Jeeves, 2011) but is not on the current RPR (Hall & Woodward, 2022) because records are of introduced plants