Erica recurvata is a recent rediscovery. The plant was first described from a specimen that flowered in England. It was grown from seed sent there by an early plant collector in the Cape. After the initial flower, of which a very beautiful watercolour illustration was made, the plant was not seen again for more than 200 years. Eventually, the illustration was assumed to be of a hybrid, because it was so unlike any known Erica. In spring 2007, Ross Turner discovered nine plants in flower in the mountains above Bredasdorp and Napier. They were identified by Ted Oliver as the missing Erica recurvata - a determination that caused a stirring of note in the botanical community in South Africa. In December of last year, I visited the general area together with Cameron and Rhoda McMaster. The night before, Cameron had shown me the photographs he had of the Erica, at that stage only discovered some 3 months earlier. The next morning I discovered through sheer fortune another specimen in a locality a few kilometers away from the original locality. Searching in the same spot revealed a total of three plants. This prompted Cameron to search in further potential spots, and yielded rewards with a further twenty or so plants discovered in the following days. The current tally is around 30 or 40 plants, making it still one of South Africa's rarest plants. It is doubtful if it had ever been plentiful, as the suitable habitat is very sparse. However, the plants are fairly well protected and the population should stay more or less stable as long as invasive aliens are kept at bay. Climate changes could pose a very serious threat, however, as these plants are locked into a very narrow zone with nowhere else to go.

This young plant is threatened by a pine seedling. Another season, and the Erica would have lost the battle.