Herb: Mountain Crowberry


Latin name: Empetrum eamesii hermaphroditum


Synonyms: Empetrum hermaphroditum, Empetrum nigrum hermaphroditum


Family: Empetraceae (Crowberry Family)



Edible parts of Mountain Crowberry:

Fruit - raw or cooked. A watery flavour, it is mainly used for making drinks, pies, preserves etc. The Inuit dry or freeze them for winter use. The fruit is about 4mm in diameter. A tea can be made from the twigs.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Shrub

Height:
30 cm
(11 3/4 inch)

Flowering:
March

Habitat of the herb:

On mountain tops and moors, mostly at high altitudes but down to sea level in the far north of its range.

Other uses of Mountain Crowberry:

Plants can be used for groundcover in exposed locations.

Propagation of the herb:

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.

Cultivation of Mountain Crowberry:

On mountain tops and moors, mostly at high altitudes but down to sea level in the far north of its range.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Empetrum eamesii hermaphroditum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.