Heath, heeth, or Heather, heth'er, the popular name for many plants, most of which belong to the same genus, and all of which belong to the heath family. They are widely distributed over Europe and the Mediterranean region, and are found most abundantly in South Africa. From 400 to 500 species are known, and twelve or fifteen of these are natives of Europe. Many of them bear flowers of brilliant color, and in certain sections the heather is a favorite and characteristic plant. Scotch heather has low, grayish, hairy stalks and broom-like branches, with needle-shaped leaves and sprays of countless, tiny, purple blossoms. In Scotland the poor use heather for thatching their houses, and in other European countries it is used in making brooms, brushes and bed mattresses. One species only of heather is found in the United States and that grows sparingly in a few localities on the Atlantic coast; but there are many American plants of the same family which are familiar, including, for instance, the trailing arbutus, the huckleberry and the cranberry. In physical geography, the term heath is applied to a tract of low, level land covered with shrubs. The name originated in Great Britain, where it was first applied to land covered with the heath plant. Heaths are not common in America, and the term is seldom applied to areas in the United States.