- The yellow-leaved cultivar Empetrum nigrum 'Lucia'
- Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Empetrum nigrum in Denali
- Alaskan crowberry
Black crowberry | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Ericaceae |
Genus: | Empetrum |
Species: | E. nigrum |
Binomial name | |
Empetrum nigrum | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Empetrum nigrum, crowberry, [3] black crowberry, mossberry, or, in western Alaska, Labrador, etc., blackberry, is a flowering plant species in the heather family Ericaceae with a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually dioecious, but there is a monoecious [4] tetraploid subspecies, Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum, which occurs in more northerly locations and at higher altitude. [5] [6] . This taxon is in some cases considered its own species, and not a subspecies. [7]
Empetrum nigrum is a low growing, evergreen shrub with a creeping habit. [8] The leaves are 3–6 millimetres (1⁄8–1⁄4 inch) long, arranged alternately along the stem. The stems are red when young and then fade to brown. It blooms between May and June. [9] The flowers are small and not very noticeable, [8] with greenish-pink sepals that turn reddish purple. [10] The round fruits are drupes, 4–6 mm (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) wide, usually black or purplish-black but occasionally red. [11]
The species has a near circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. [7] It is also native in the Falkland Islands. [14] [15]
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. [16]
Empetrum nigrum grows in bogs [17] and other acidic soils in shady, moist areas.
The moth species Glacies coracina , Zygaena exulans , and Hadula melanopa feed on the plant. [9]
The metabolism and photosynthetic parameters of Empetrum can be altered in winter-warming experiments. [18]
Empetrum nigrum has allelopathic properties (e.g. hampering seed germination and root extension of other plants) but the strength of these are dependent on the soil type. [19]
The fruit is edible and can be dried, [20] but has an acidic taste. It is often mixed with other berries in dishes like pies and puddings. [17]
It is abundant in Scandinavia and treasured for its ability to make liqueur, wine, juice, or jelly. In subarctic areas, the plant has been a vital addition to the diet of the Inuit and the Sami.[ citation needed ] It is used to make Alaskan ice cream. [17] The Dena'ina (Tanaina) harvest it for food, sometimes storing in quantity for winter, sometimes mixed with lard or oil.[ citation needed ]
The species can also be grown as a ground cover, [21] 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 dye. [21]
The Scottish Highlands Clan Maclean's badge is believed to be E. nigrum. [22]
Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae.
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is known colloquially as the lingonberry, partridgeberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, or cowberry. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Commercially cultivated in the United States Pacific Northwest and the Netherlands, the edible berries are also picked in the wild and used in various dishes, especially in Nordic cuisine.
Berberis aquifolium, the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing 1–3 meters tall and 1.5 m (5 ft) wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow flowers in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black berries.
Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.
Empetrum is a genus of three species of dwarf evergreen shrubs in the heath family, Ericaceae. They are commonly known as crowberries and bear edible fruit. Species of Empetrum include: E. nigrum (crowberry) and its tetraploid subspecies E. nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum, E. eamesii and E. rubrum.
Lonicera japonica, known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to East Asia, including many parts of China. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species in a number of countries. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the target organisms and the community. Allelopathy is often used narrowly to describe chemically-mediated competition between plants; however, it is sometimes defined more broadly as chemically-mediated competition between any type of organisms. The original concept developed by Hans Molisch in 1937 seemed focused only on interactions between plants, between microorganisms and between microorganisms and plants. Allelochemicals are a subset of secondary metabolites, which are not directly required for metabolism of the allelopathic organism.
Alnus incana, the grey alder, tag alder or speckled alder, is a species of multi-stemmed, shrubby tree in the birch family, with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Tolerant of wetter soils, it can slowly spread with runners and is a common sight in swamps and wetlands.
Mentha arvensis, the corn mint, field mint, or wild mint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It has a circumboreal distribution, being native to the temperate regions of Europe and western and central Asia, east to the Himalaya and eastern Siberia, and North America. Mentha canadensis, the related species, is also included in Mentha arvensis by some authors as two varieties, M. arvensis var. glabrata Fernald and M. arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey.
Dicentra formosa is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. With its fern-like foliage and inflorescence of drooping pink, purple, yellow or cream "hearts", this species is native to the United States' Pacific Northwest and West Coast of North America.
Vaccinium parvifolium, the red huckleberry, is a species of Vaccinium native to western North America.
Vaccinium uliginosum is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae.
The grey red-backed vole or the grey-sided vole is a species of vole. An adult grey red-backed vole weighs 20-50 grams. This species ranges across northern Eurasia, including northern China, the northern Korean Peninsula, and the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō. It is larger and longer-legged than the northern red-backed vole, which covers a similar range and it is also sympatric with the Norwegian lemming.
Triglochin maritima is a species of flowering plant in the arrowgrass family Juncaginaceae. It is found in brackish marshes, freshwater marshes, wet sandy beaches, fens, damp grassland and bogs. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern Northern Hemisphere. In the British Isles it is common on the coast, but very rare inland.
Grevillea juniperina, commonly known as juniper- or juniper-leaf grevillea or prickly spider-flower, is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland in Australia. Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the species in 1810, and seven subspecies are recognised. One subspecies, G. j. juniperina, is restricted to Western Sydney and environs and is threatened by loss of habitat and housing development.
Phyllodoce empetriformis, also known as pink mountain heather, gets its name from its red and pink bell-shaped flowers. It is found along the Rocky Mountains of the Northwestern United States and Western Canada.
Sambucus cerulea or Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea, with the common names blue elderberry and blue elder, is a coarse textured shrub species of elder in the family Adoxaceae.
Carex bigelowii is a species of sedge known by the common names Bigelow's sedge, Gwanmo sedge, and stiff sedge. It has an Arctic–alpine distribution in Eurasia and North America, and grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) tall in a variety of habitats.
Apocynum venetum, commonly known as sword-leaf dogbane, is a plant species in the dogbane family that is poisonous but used as a source of fiber, medicine, and nectar for production of honey.
Empetrum nigrum subsp. asiaticum, the Korean crowberry, is a subspecies of the flowering plant species Empetrum nigrum in the heather family, Ericaceae. The plant is called siromi (시로미) in Korean and gankōran (岩高蘭) in Japanese.
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