a, flowering branch; b, flowers enlarged; c, fruit.
Crowberry, or CRAKEBERRY (Empetrum nigrum), a small procumbent shrub, with characteristically inrolled leaf-margins, of the order Empetraceae, a native of the colder northern parts of the world, abundant in the moors of Scotland and the north of England, and common throughout Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. The order consists of a few heath-like shrubs, which, however, are usually associated with Euphorbiaceae (Spurges, &c.), with small trimerous unisexual flowers, the fruit a small berry seated in the persistent calyx. The berries of the crowberry are nearly black, surround the branches in crowded clusters, and each contain six to nine bony seeds and a watery acidulous juice. A fermented liquor is prepared from them in some northern countries. They are a favourite food of game. E. rubrum of Cape Horn differs little, except in having red berries. The berries of the Camarinheira (Corema alba) are employed in Portugal for the preparation of an acidulous drink in fevers. The plants of this order, especially E. nigrum, have taken considerable part in the formation of peat.