Red crowberry
| Red crowberry | ||||||||||||
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Red crowberry ( Empetrum rubrum ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Empetrum rubrum | ||||||||||||
| Vahl ex Willd. |
The red crowberry ( Empetrum rubrum ) belongs to the plant genus of crowberries .
description
The red crowberry is a low, evergreen dwarf shrub . It reaches heights of 10 to 50 cm and can form large mats. The stem and root are woody. The very small and bare, almost sessile, entire, leathery, needle-shaped, fleshy leaves sit, whorled and screwy, tightly packed on the shoot .
The flowering time is in October. Male and female flowers are on different individuals; Empetrum rubrum is therefore dioecious dioecious . The very small, single and threefold flowers with a double flower envelope appear axillary and solitary. The male flowers with 3 short stamens are dark and the female flowers with a top permanent, multi-chambered ovary with short stylus and a plurality of scars branches are maroon. The 4-8 millimeter large or small and smooth, berry-like, multi-seeded stone fruits with remains of stigmas at the tip can be dark red to light orange red when ripe (from January).
Distribution and ecology
The plant occurs in the area of South America , at subalpine and alpine altitudes (e.g. Patagonia ), but also on the South Atlantic Islands, such as the Falkland Islands , where it is made into jam as Diddle-Dee and sold in souvenir shops.
The berries are a valuable winter food source for birds.
use
On the Falkland Islands, the fruits are often collected for jam and boiled down or served as an ingredient in yoghurt and cheese.
literature
- A. Liddle: Plants of the Falkland Islands. Wild Guides, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9538-3719-9 , 96 pp.
Web links
- Empetrum rubrum near Chile Flora (more pictures below with photos).