Crowberries
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Black crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ), illustration |
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The crowberries ( Empetrum ) are a genus of plants that are now part of the heather family (Ericaceae), but were regarded as an independent crowberry family (Empetraceae) in the past. There are two to a few types . The botanical genus name Empetrum is derived from the Latin empetros herba and the ancient Greek émpetron , which in ancient times referred to plants that were used medicinally against bladder stones.
description
The crowberry species are evergreen dwarf shrubs that reach heights of 15 to 60 cm. The needle-shaped leaves are arranged opposite or whirling.
They are single- sexed ( monoecious ) or dioecious ( dioecious ). The inflorescences contain only one to three flowers. They are pollinated by the wind. There are only three to six free bracts . The unisexual flowers are small. The male flowers contain three to six stamens . The female flowers above a constant is ovary present, and the stamp has a six- to nine or zwölflappige scar. Their solitary stone fruits are dark blue to black or red.
distribution and habitat
The homeland are the northern temperate regions and in South America the Andes and the southern Atlantic Islands: Falkland Islands , Tristan da Cunha .
Crowberries are often dominant in plant stocks and then form the "crowberry heather" named after this genus. The crowberries and such heaths can be found in regions where the cold climate means that no forest growth is possible. There are large-scale occurrences of it on the one hand in the area of the northern tundra in Eurasia and North America , on the other hand in the altitude level of the dwarf shrub heather on and above the natural tree line in the mountains of the northern hemisphere. In small areas, however, crowberries also occur in raised bogs and on coastal dunes, i.e. in special locations that are hostile to forests, even under otherwise forest-friendly climatic conditions. The occurrence in the northern hemisphere, where the black crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ) and species closely related to it grow, is offset by another smaller one in southernmost South America, where very similar climatic conditions occur in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego . Here Empetrum rubrum occurs with red fruits.
Crowberries prefer acidic soils.
use
Despite andromedotoxin , they are not considered poisonous plants because no cases of poisoning are known.
In Scandinavia and Greenland, the fruit is eaten as a compote. They contain twice as much vitamin C as blueberries and are also used as a colorant as a supplement to blueberries in juice production.
The fruits are also used in Chile.
Types (selection)
There are several types of crowberries ( Empetrum ):
- Empetrum eamesii Fernald & Wiegand : It occurs in north-eastern Canada.
- Hermaphroditic crowberry ( Empetrum hermaphroditum Hagerup ): In the Flora of North America, the hermaphrodite crowberry is combined with the black crowberry to form one species.
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Black crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum L. ): with several subspecies and varieties, including:
- Empetrum nigrum var. Japonicum K. Koch (Syn .: Empetrum nigrum var. Asiaticum Nakai ex H. Itô ): It occurs in Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Far Eastern Russia and China.
- Red crowberry ( Empetrum rubrum Vahl ex Willd. ): The home is Chile and Tierra del Fuego.
swell
- Entry in the Flora of China. (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-16-7 , p. 227 (reprint from 1996).
- ^ A b David F. Murray, Virginia Mirré, Reidar Elven: Empetrum Linnaeus . In: Flora of North America, vol. 8. [1] .
- ↑ Min Tianlu (闵 天禄 Ming Tien-lu); Arne Anderberg: Empetrum Linnaeus. , Pp. 36-38 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (ed.): Flora of China. Volume 14: Ericaceae. Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 2010
