Crowberry, Black crowberry, Black Crowberry
Empetrum nigrum
Family: Empetraceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Purple, Red. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late summer, Mid summer. Form: Prostrate, Spreading or horizontal.
Empetrum nigrum is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen in September. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Bees, flies, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 0.3
Where it is found
Moors and mountain tops, and in the drier parts of blanket bogs.
Europe, including Britain, Iceland to the Pyrenees, east to Siberia and Bulgaria and also N. America
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Alaska, Arctic, Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, China, Estonia, Europe, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, North America, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, USA,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Fruit - raw or cooked. It can taste slightly acid or insipid. Not very desirable, it tastes best after a frost. A watery flavour, it is mainly used for making drinks, pies, preserves etc. The Inuit dry or freeze them for winter use. The fruit can hang on the plant all winter. The fruit is about 7.5mm in diameter. A tea can be made from the twigs.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The leafy branches have been used, especially for children with a fever, as a diuretic. It has also been used to treat kidney problems. A decoction or infusion of the stems, or the cooked berries, have been used in the treatment of diarrhoea. A decoction of the leaves and stems, mixed with Hudson Bay tea and young spruce tree tips, has been used in the treatment of colds. A decoction of the roots has been used as an eyewash to remove a growth.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Kidney: Used in the treatment of kidney diseases
Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.
Other
Rating: 1
A purple dye is obtained from the fruit. Can be used for groundcover in exposed locations. Plants should be spaced about 25cm apart each way.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Erosion control, Foundation, Ground cover, Massing, Rock garden. A calcifuge plant, it is easily grown in a lime-free soil. Prefers a moist sandy peaty soil and some shade. The two names var. 'Rubrum' and var. 'Purpureum' are of doubtful application to this species and may refer to E. eamesii. Plants are usually dioecious though hermaphrodite forms are known. Male and female plants will normally need to be grown if fruit and seed are required. Special Features:Attractive foliage, North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed can be very slow to germinate, stored seed requires 5 months warm then 3 months cold stratification at 5°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 3cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Takes 3 weeks. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, 3cm with a heel, October in a frame. Requires shade. Good percentage.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Ground Cover;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 3-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Monox, Curlew berry, Moss berry, Ahzayahk, Boneruk, Panak, Kukesilmad, Varesemarja,