Burke: Empetrum nigrum

	Empetrum nigrum
	crowberry
Habit	Low, spreading shrub, up to 1.5 dm. tall, the somewhat woolly branches up to 3 dm. long.
Leaves	Leaves nearly round in cross section, partly in whorls of 4 and partly alternate, glandular-puberulent, 4-8 mm. long, the margins revolute, the lower surface grooved.
Flowers	Flowers axillary, perfect to imperfect (monoecious or dioecious), 3 mm. long, subtended by 3 chaffy bracts, smaller but similar to the 6 sepals; inner 3 sepals brownish-purple, petal-like; petals none; perfect and staminate flowers with 3 stamens; pistil 1, the stigma peltate, with 6-9 short lobes.
Fruits	Fruit drupe-like, globular, purplish-black, 4-5 mm. long.

	Empetrum nigrum
Flowering time	May-July
Habitat	Exposed rocky bluffs, but also in peat bogs.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
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

crowberry

Habit

Low, spreading shrub, up to 1.5 dm. tall, the somewhat woolly branches up to 3 dm. long.

Leaves

Leaves nearly round in cross section, partly in whorls of 4 and partly alternate, glandular-puberulent, 4-8 mm. long, the margins revolute, the lower surface grooved.

Flowers

Flowers axillary, perfect to imperfect (monoecious or dioecious), 3 mm. long, subtended by 3 chaffy bracts, smaller but similar to the 6 sepals; inner 3 sepals brownish-purple, petal-like;

petals none; perfect and staminate flowers with 3 stamens;

pistil 1, the stigma peltate, with 6-9 short lobes.

Fruits

Fruit drupe-like, globular, purplish-black, 4-5 mm. long.

Empetrum nigrum

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Exposed rocky bluffs, but also in peat bogs.

Distribution

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Web links