Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

crowberry Empetraceae Empetrum nigrum L. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: EMNI
Leaf: Evergreen, fleshy or plump, 1/8 to 1/4 inch long and somewhat needle-like but with a blunt tip, borne on short petioles; overall resembling a bottlebrush.
Flower: Species is mostly dioecious, but a recognized subspecies (hermaphroditum) is monoecious; pink and urn-shaped; appearing in small clusters in the spring.
Fruit: Up to 1/2 inch round (but commonly smaller), black or sometimes dark purple; ripening in the fall and persisting into winter.
Twig: Slender, green to reddish brown and sparsely tomentose; buds are small and valvate.
Bark: Reddish brown.
Form: A low-growing and creeping shrub to 6 inches tall.

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Additional Range Information: Empetrum nigrum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material © 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information