This small heather grows in acid soils. The main characteristic that distinguishes it from other heathers is its terminal inflorescence in the form of an umbel. It grows on poor and bare siliceous soils, often sandy, and in a somewhat humid and mild climate, on bare soils, in open or dwarf heaths, thickets, cleared forests and sandy areas near the coast, on acid soils from sea level to 1500 m altitude.