Herb latin name: Empetrum rubrum


Family: Empetraceae (Crowberry Family)



Medicinal use of Empetrum rubrum:

Tonic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Shrub

Height:
30 cm
(11 3/4 inch)

Flowering:
May

Habitat of the herb:

Dwarf shrub heath, feldmark communities, bogs and swamps, in open Nothofagus forest and occasionally frequent in the understorey.

Edible parts of Empetrum rubrum:

Fruit - raw or cooked. It is supposed to have tonic properties.

Other uses of the herb:

Plants can be used for groundcover in exposed locations.

Propagation of Empetrum rubrum:

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 the herb:

Dwarf shrub heath, feldmark communities, bogs and swamps, in open Nothofagus forest and occasionally frequent in the understorey.

Known hazards of Empetrum rubrum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.