Empetrum

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Empetrum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/empetrum/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

Family

  • Empetraceae

Common Names

  • Crowberry

Glossary

family
A group of genera more closely related to each other than to genera in other families. Names of families are identified by the suffix ‘-aceae’ (e.g. Myrtaceae) with a few traditional exceptions (e.g. Leguminosae).
monograph
Taxonomic account of a single genus or family.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Empetrum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/empetrum/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

A small genus of low or procumbent evergreen shrubs, found in the colder regions of both the northern and the southern hemisphere. The number of species recognised by recent workers ranges from two (R. D. Good in Journ. Linn. Soc., Vol. 47, pp. 489–523, 1927) to eighteen (V. N. Vasiliev, in a monograph published in Russia in 1961). The only allied genus in gardens is Corema. The affinities of these shrubs are doubtful, but the general opinion now is to regard them as nearest to the box family. The generic name derives from the Greek and means ‘on rocks’. The introduced species are very hardy and easy to grow if planted in lime-free soil.