an ericaceous shrub of s.europe with hard,woody root ?

Answer 1

"Briar wood, is wood from the root of Erica arborea, used for making smoking pipes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briar
Erica arborea Family: Ericaceae (Heath)
Growing often to 3 m, it's one of the tallest European members of the genus Erica.
http://www.beyond.fr/flora/heathtree.html

Spring Heath (Ericaceae Erica carnea) is "native to central and southern Europe"
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/e/ericar/ericar1.html

The dominant species in the Heathlands of Southern Britain are Calluna vulgaris. "Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix, Vaccinium myrtillus, Deschampsia flexuosa, Molinia caerulea, Scirpus cespitosus and Pteridium aquilinum) tend to dominate. Species such as Juniperus communis are eliminated by regular burning (Gimingham 1972). regenerates freely from the stem bases."
http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/country/gb/gb_1.htm

Answer 2

Camellia Lady Campbell
Camellia Lavinia Maggi