Empetrum nigrum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamilia: Ericoideae
Tribus: Empetreae
Genus: Empetrum
Species: Empetrum nigrum
Subspecies: E. n. subsp. albidum – E. n. subsp. androgynum – E. n. subsp. asiaticum – E. n. subsp. caucasicum – E. n. subsp. kardakovii – E. n. subsp. nigrum – E. n. subsp. sibiricum
Name

Empetrum nigrum L. (1753)
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 1022. Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Empetrum nigrum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Apr 27. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Empetrum nigrum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Apr 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Empetrum nigrum. Published online. Accessed: Apr 27 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Empetrum nigrum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Apr 27.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Empetrum nigrum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2007-10-06.

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Багноўка чорная
беларуская: Багноўка чорная
čeština: šicha černá
Cymraeg: creiglusen creiglus
dansk: Almindelig Revling
Deutsch: Schwarze Krähenbeere
English: crowberry, black crowberry, mossberry
español: camarina negra, baya de cuervo, baya de corneja, émpetro negro
suomi: Variksenmarja
Nordfriisk: Swinbei
français: Camarine Noire
Gaeilge: Lus na feannóige
Iñupiak: Paunġaq
日本語: ガンコウラン
қазақша: Субүлдірген
перем коми: Пончӧд
한국어: 시로미
коми: Пончӧд
lietuvių: Juodoji varnauogė
norsk bokmål: Krekling
Nederlands: Kraaihei
norsk nynorsk: Krekling, Krøkkebær
norsk: Krekling, Krøkebær
polski: bażyna Czarna
русский: Водяника чёрная
davvisámegiella: Čáhppesmuorji
slovenčina: šucha čierna
Seeltersk: Heedebäie
svenska: Kråkbär, Kråkris
Türkçe: Karga üzümü
中文: 岩高兰

Empetrum nigrum, crowberry,[3] black crowberry, or, in western Alaska, blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the northern hemisphere.[4] It is also native in the Falkland Islands.[5][6] It is usually dioecious, but there is a bisexual tetraploid subspecies, Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum, that occurs in more northerly locations and at higher altitude.[7][8]

Evolutionary biologists have explained the striking geographic distribution of crowberries as a result of long-distance migratory birds dispersing seeds from one pole to the other.[9]

The metabolism and photosynthetic parameters of Empetrum can be altered in winter-warming experiments.[10]

Description

Empetrum nigrum is a low growing, evergreen shrub with a creeping habit.[11] The leaves are 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long, arranged alternately along the stem. The stems are red when young and then fade to brown. It blooms between May and June,[12] the flowers are small and not very noticeable,[11] with greenish-pink sepals that turn reddish purple.[13] The round fruits are drupes, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide, usually black or purplish-black but occasionally red.[14]
The yellow-leaved cultivar Empetrum nigrum 'Lucia'
Alaskan crowberry
Subspecies

Empetrum nigrum subsp. asiaticum (Nakai ex H.Ito) Kuvaev – Korean crowberry[15]
Empetrum nigrum subsp. subholarcticum (V.N.Vassil.) Kuvaev (synonym: Empetrum subholarcticum V.N.Vassil.)[16]

Cultivation and uses

Empetrum nigrum can be grown in acidic soils in shady, moist areas. It can be grown for the edible fruit, (but has an acid -like taste, and can cause headaches [12]) as a ground cover,[17] or as an ornamental plant in rock gardens, notably the yellow-foliaged cultivar 'Lucia'. The fruit is high in anthocyanin pigment, and can be used to make a natural food dye.[17] While abundant in Scandinavia, it's never picked for eating. Instead it's treasured for its ability to make good wine, juices or jelly.

In subarctic areas, E. nigrum has been a vital addition to the diet of the Inuit and the Sami. The Dena'ina (Tanaina) harvest it for food, sometimes storing in quantity for winter, and like it mixed with lard or oil. The fruits are usually collected in fall, but if not picked they may persist on the plant and can be picked in the spring.

The plant is also a food source of several moths, including the Black Mountain, Mountain Burnet and Broad-bordered White Underwing.[12]
References

Sp. Pl. 2: 1022. 1753 [1 May 1753] "Plant Name Details for Empetrum nigrum". IPNI. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
"Empetrum nigrum L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Crowberry" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 513.
Anderberg, Arne. "Den Virtuella Floran, Empetrum nigrum L." Stockholm, Sweden: Naturhistoriska riksmuseet.
"Empetrum nigrum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 15 December 2017.
"Empetrum nigrum L." PLANTS.
Stace, C. A. (2010) New Flora of the British Isles, 3rd edition. Cambridge University press. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5. pp. 525.
Kråkbär (in Swedish)
Magnus Popp; Virginia Mirré; Christian Brochmann (2011). Peter H. Raven (ed.). "A single Mid-Pleistocene long-distance dispersal by a bird can explain the extreme bipolar disjunction in crowberries". PNAS. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri. 108 (16): 6520–6525. doi:10.1073/pnas.1012249108. PMC 3081031. PMID 21402939.
Bokhorst, S; Bjerke, JW; Davey, MP; Taulavuori, K; Taulavuori, E; Laine, K; Callaghan, TV; Phoenix, GK (2010). "Impacts of extreme winter warming events on plant physiology in a sub-Arctic heath community". Physiologia Plantarum. 140 (2): 128–140. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.2010.01386.x. PMID 20497369.
Barbara Coffin; Lee Pfannmuller (1988). Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. U of Minnesota Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8166-1689-3.
Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader's Digest. 1981. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-276-00217-5.
"Empetrum nigrum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
"Jepson eFlora: Empetrum nigrum". University and Jepson Herbaria. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 456. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2016 – via Korea Forest Service.
"Empetrum subholarcticum V.N.Vassil". www.worldfloraonline.org. Retrieved 15 February 2021.

"Empetrum nigrum - L." Plants for a Future. Retrieved 15 May 2017.

Forest Service Fire Ecology