EMPETRACEAE

CROWBERRY FAMILY

Fosiée Tahbaz

Subshrub or shrub, low, evergreen, generally dioecious
Leaves alternate, linear to oblong, stiff, deeply grooved beneath (leaf seeming rolled under)
Inflorescence: flowers solitary or few, axillary or terminal, ± sessile
Flower: perianth segments 3–6, sometimes differentiated into sepals and petals
Staminate flower: stamens 2–4
Pistillate flower: ovary superior, chambers 2–9, ovule 1 per chamber, style deeply 2–9-lobed
Fruit: drupe, dry or juicy; stones 2–9
Genera in family: 3 genera, ± 5 species: cold temperate; most cultivated as ornamental.

EMPETRUM

CROWBERRY

Flower small, inconspicuous; sepals 3; petals 3; stamens 3 per staminate flower, alternate petals
Fruit berry-like, black or red
Species in genus: ± 2 species: n&s cold temperate zones
Etymology: (Greek: on rocks, from habitat)

Native

E. nigrum L.

BLACK CROWBERRY

Stem ± decumbent; branches many, 15–40 cm
Leaves crowded, 3–6 mm, glabrous except along groove
Flower: perianth dark purplish red; filaments < 4 mm
Fruit 4–6 mm diam, black
Chromosomes: 2n=26
Ecology: Rocky sea cliffs, in coastal scrub
Elevation: < 200 m.
Bioregional distribution: n North Coast (Del Norte, Humboldt cos.)
Distribution outside California: to Alaska; circumboreal
CA populations scattered, small. Plants with bisexual flowers have been called subsp. hermaphroditum (Lange) Böcher; most CA plants seem dioecious
Horticultural information: In cultivation.