Taxon: Empetrum nigrum L.

Summary

Genus:

Empetrum

Family:

Ericaceae

Subfamily:

Ericoideae

Tribe:

Empetreae

Nomen number:

15127

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:1022. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

12/28/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

33 (18 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Empetrum nigrum L. var. asiaticum Nakai (0 active accession[s])
Empetrum nigrum L. var. japonicum K. Koch (0 active accession[s])
Empetrum nigrum L. var. nigrum (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Empetrum nigrum L. subsp. nigrum

Images (4 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Hultén, O. E. G. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Krüssmann, G. 1984. Manual of cultivated broad-leaved trees and shrubs (English translation of Handbuch der Laubgehölze. 1976)
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
Seymour, F. 1969. The flora of New England.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	black crowberry	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	crakeberry	1	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
English	curlew-berry	1	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Swedish	kråkbär	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Antarctic	Subantarctic Islands	Falkland Islands(Malvinas)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China		n.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Hokkaidô		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Honshu		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Shikoku		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Mongolia	Mongolia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part	n.	Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czechoslovakia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Iceland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Svalbard and Jan Mayen			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Former Yugoslavia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Nova Scotia		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Prince Edward Island		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Minnesota		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Subarctic America	Canada	Yukon		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Subarctic America	Greenland			FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
1	Native	Northern America	Subarctic America	United States	Alaska		Hultén, O. E. G. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Alberta		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Manitoba		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Saskatchewan		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
2	Cultivated					also cult.

Native
Antarctic

SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS: Falkland Islands(Malvinas)

Asia-Temperate

SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
MONGOLIA: Mongolia
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]
CHINA: China (n.)
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan [Hokkaidô, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part (n.)], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Canada [Yukon], Greenland, United States [Alaska]
EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Québec, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador]
WESTERN CANADA: Canada [Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Minnesota]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Oregon, Washington]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]

Cultivated (also cult.)

Reference(s)

FNA Editorial Committee. 2009. Flora of North America. 8:486-488. Note: treats s.l., including Empetrum hermaphroditum, a tetraploid with bisexual flowers
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Hultén, O. E. G. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Environmental	ornamental		Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=15127. Accessed 9 May 2026.