Common Name: HEATH FAMILY Habit: Perennial herb, shrub, tree. Stem: bark often peeling distinctively. Leaf: simple or 0, generally cauline, alternate, opposite (whorled), evergreen or deciduous, often leathery, petioled or not; stipules 0. Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, cyme, or flowers 1, terminal or axillary, generally bracted; pedicel often with 2 bractlets. Flower: generally bisexual, generally radial, bell-shaped, cylindric, or urn-shaped; sepals generally (0)4--5, generally free; petals generally (0)4--5, free or fused; stamens (2--5)8--10, free, filaments rarely appendaged, anthers dehiscing by pores or slits, awns 0 or 2(4), seemingly abaxial, reduced or elongate, generally curved; nectary generally present at ovary base, generally disk-like; ovary superior or inferior, chambers generally 1--5, placentas axile or parietal, ovules 1--many per chamber, style 1, stigma head- to funnel-like or lobed. Fruit: capsule, drupe, berry. Seed: generally many, winged or not. Genera In Family: +- 100 genera, 3000 species: generally worldwide except deserts; some cultivated, especially Arbutus, Arctostaphylos, Rhododendron, Vaccinium. Note: Monophyletic only if Empetraceae included, as treated here. Ledum included in Rhododendron. Non-green plants obtain nutrition from green plants through fungal intermediates. eFlora Treatment Author: Gary D. Wallace, except as noted Scientific Editor: Gary D. Wallace, Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Habit: Subshrub to low shrub, evergreen; generally dioecious. Stem: spreading to decumbent, densely branching. Leaf: alternate or whorled, linear to +- oblong, stiff, strongly rolled under, apparent groove abaxially. Inflorescence: axillary or terminal, flowers 1 or in few-flowered clusters, +- sessile. Flower: unisexual [bisexual], reduced, perianth parts 3--6, +- free, dark purple-red, subtended by scaly bracts. Fruit: drupe, generally juicy. Seed: stones 2--9. Etymology: (Greek: on rocks, from habitat) Note: Wind-pollinated. eFlora Treatment Author: Kathleen A. Kron Reference: Kron 1996 Ann Bot 77:293--304
Empetrum nigrum L.
NATIVE Stem: generally decumbent, branches 15--40 cm. Leaf: crowded, 3--6 mm, glabrous except along groove. Staminate Flower: stamens (2)3(4). Pistillate Flower: ovary superior, chambers 2--9, style deeply 2--9-lobed. Fruit: 4--6 mm wide, black or purple-black, occasionally red. Ecology: Coastal cliffs on rocks; Elevation: < 200 m. Bioregional Distribution: n NCo (Del Norte, Humboldt cos.); Distribution Outside California: to Alaska; circumboreal. Flowering Time: Apr--May Note: If recognized taxonomically, plants with bisexual flowers assignable to Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum (Hagerup) T.J. Sørensen. Unabridged Note: California populations scattered, small. If recognized taxonomically, plants with bisexual flowers assignable to Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum (Hagerup) T.J. Sørensen. Most California plants seem dioecious. Jepson eFlora Author: Kathleen A. Kron Reference: Kron 1996 Ann Bot 77:293--304 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Listed on CNPS Rare Plant Inventory Previous taxon: Empetrum Next taxon: Erica
Citation for this treatment: Kathleen A. Kron 2012, Empetrum nigrum, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=24229, accessed on May 08, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on May 08, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Empetrum nigrum:
n NCo (Del Norte, Humboldt cos.)
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
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Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
