Heath Definition & Meaning
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app. Heath is defined as part of the family Ericaceae of plants. As well as three varieties of heather, the heath also has woods and open grassland and a sandy beach. Add heath to one of your lists below, or create a new one. The recolonising tree species will depend on what is available as the local seed source, and thus it may not reflect the natural vegetation before the heathland became established. Heaths are widespread worldwide but are fast disappearing and considered a rare habitat in Europe. Extensive heath communities can also be found in the California chaparral, New Caledonia, central Chile, and along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Another word for this kind of uncultivated countryside is moor. A particular evergreen shrub is also called a heath; it's a low-growing plant with purplish flowers that commonly grows on, you guessed it, a heath. The Old Engli...