a low wild plant with small purple, pink or white flowers, that grows on hills and areas of wild open land (= moorland and heathland) Topics Plants and treesc2帚石楠(低矮野生,开紫、粉红或白色小花) Word OriginOld English hadre, hedre (recorded in place names), of unknown origin. The word was chiefly Scots until the 16th cent.; the change in the first syllable in the 18th cent. was due to association with heath.