OregonFlora: Empetrum nigrum

	Empetrum nigrum
	black crowberry
Stems	slender, creeping and rooting, 15–100 cm, green to reddish.
Leaves	linear, nearly needle-like, deeply grooved abaxially, 3–7.7 × 0.5–2 mm; stiff; tips rounded to subacute; surfaces glabrous or sparsely glandular.
Flowers	sepals 3, green to red or purple; petals 3, 0.5–1.5 mm, white to purple; stamens (2)4; filaments < 4 mm; anthers without awns.
Fruits	4–10 mm in diameter; black with a bloom.
Seeds	1–3 mm, brown.
2n	=26, 52.

	Empetrum nigrum
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Coastal bluffs. Flowering Apr–May. 0–50 m. Est. CA, WA; north to AK, east across Canada to northeastern states; circumboreal, southern South America, south Atlantic islands. Native. Within Oregon this species is rare, but, when found, it is always growing in a coastal habitat. In other parts of the world, E. nigrum can be found inland in sphagnum bogs, subalpine forests, and on mountain summits. This may suggest that our plants are a distinct taxon. However, more data are needed to determine the range and relationships between our “taxon” and others within the genus.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 625 Stephen Meyers
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Empetrum nigrum

black crowberry

Stems

slender, creeping and rooting, 15–100 cm, green to reddish.

Leaves

linear, nearly needle-like, deeply grooved abaxially, 3–7.7 × 0.5–2 mm; stiff;

tips rounded to subacute;

surfaces glabrous or sparsely glandular.

Flowers

sepals 3, green to red or purple;

petals 3, 0.5–1.5 mm, white to purple;

stamens (2)4;

filaments < 4 mm;

anthers without awns.

Fruits

4–10 mm in diameter; black with a bloom.

Seeds

1–3 mm, brown.

=26, 52.

Empetrum nigrum

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Coastal bluffs. Flowering Apr–May. 0–50 m. Est. CA, WA; north to AK, east across Canada to northeastern states; circumboreal, southern South America, south Atlantic islands. Native.

Within Oregon this species is rare, but, when found, it is always growing in a coastal habitat. In other parts of the world, E. nigrum can be found inland in sphagnum bogs, subalpine forests, and on mountain summits. This may suggest that our plants are a distinct taxon. However, more data are needed to determine the range and relationships between our “taxon” and others within the genus.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 625
Stephen Meyers

Web links