Empetrum rubrum
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Red crowberry
| image = Empetrum rubrum falklands.jpg
| image_caption = Red crowberry growing in the Falkland Islands
| taxon = Empetrum rubrum
| authority = Vahl ex Willd.In: Species Plantarum. Editio quarta 4(2): 713. 1806. {{ cite web |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/11900009 |title=Name - Empetrum rubrum Vahl ex Willd. |work=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |location=Saint Louis, Missouri |accessdate=May 19, 2010}}
| subdivision_ranks = Forms; Subspecies; Varieties
| subdivision = E. r. f. falklandicum
R.D.GoodA description for the falklandicum form was published in: J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 47: 517 1926
E. r. subsp. eamesii
(Fernald & Wiegand) R.D.GoodDescriptions for subspecies eamesii and variety atropurpureum were published in: J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 47(317): 519 1927
E. r. var. atropurpureum
(Fernald & Wiegand) R.D.Good
E. r. var. eamesii
(Fernald & Wiegand) CronquistCronquist published var. eamesii in: Man. Vasc. Pl. N.E. U.S. (2nd. edition) 864 1991
}}
Empetrum rubrum, known as red crowberry or diddle-dee (Chilean Spanish: Murtilla de Magallanes), is a species of plant in the heath family, Ericaceae.
Distribution and habitat
The species is distributed in Chile from Talca (35°S) to Cape Horn (55°S), in areas of adjacent Argentina, in the Falkland Islands, and in Tristan da Cunha. One of its northernmost natural growing places is Laguna del Maule.
In Chile, it often grows in high-altitude areas close to the tree line and can tolerate alpine conditions such as strong winds and high sun exposure. In the Falkland Islands, it is the dominant species across large areas of lowland and upland dwarf shrub heath.
Uses
Its fruits are edible.{{cite web |author=Michail Belov |title=Description and images of Empetrum rubum |url=http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH0311.htm |accessdate=May 19, 2010 |publisher=ChileFlora}}{{Additional citation needed|date=December 2024}}
In culture
It is referenced in the Falkland Islands' unofficial national anthem.
Gallery
image:Empetrum rubrum (Terre de Feu).jpg|Close up of Empetrum rubrum in Navarino Island, Tierra del Fuego.
image:Empetrum rubrum.jpg|Empetrum rubrum from Torres del Paine National Park
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Plants described in 1806
Category:Flora of the Falkland Islands
Category:Flora of Gough Island
Category:Flora of South Georgia Island
{{Ericaceae-stub}}