CHAP. CXIV.

•EMPI'.TIIa'cEJE. i'.MPliTRUH.

2.507

Description, Sfc. Small evergreen heath-llke shrubs, natives of Europe andSouth America . Propagated by cuttings or seeds, and thriving best in peatsoil.

«l 1. E. iM'oncM L. The black Crowberry, or Crakeberry.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1450.; Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p. 713.; FI. Br., 1072.; Eng. Bot., t. 526.;Hook. Scot., 287.} Mill, lllust., t. 86.; FI. Dan., t. 975.; Dicks. H. Sicc., fasc., 2. 10.; Eng. FI.,4. p. 233.; Mackay FI. Hibern., p. 238.} Hook. Br. FI., p. 431.; Lindl. Synop., p. 224.; Lodd.Cat. , ed. 1836.

Synonymes. E. mont&num fn'ictu nlgro Rail Syn., 444.; E. No. 1605., Hall. Helv., 2. p. 279.;Erica Matth. Valgr., 1. p. 139.; Erica baccifera Cam. Epit., p. 77., Cl us. Pan., p. 49., Dalech ,Hist,, p. 188., Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 526.} E. coccffera proefrirtbens Ger. Eniac. , p. 1383.; E. C6risfolio undecima C/us. Hist., 1. p. 45.

Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 526.; Mill. lllust., t. 85. } FI. Dan., t. 975. ; ou r jig. 22X5. to our usualfcale; and^g. 2376. of the natural size.

Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves linear-oblong. Berries black and clustered. (Iioolc.)

A procumbent shrub, a native of Britain .

Variety.

h- E. n. 2 scoticum Hook. Br. FI., p. 431., is somewhat smaller than thespecies.

Description, §c. A small, procumbent,much-branched shrub; the outer bark ofwhich is deciduous and brown, but theinner bark is yellow. The branches arerough with the remains of the petioles ofthe fallen leaves. The leaves are in fours,somewhat 3-cornered, with a white linearkeel, and petioled; and they have their ^margins so much recurved as to meet be-hind. The flowers are axillary towards thesummits of the branches, small, and pur-plish, with a whitish calyx. The berriesare of the size and colour of juniper berries, but become of a brownishblack when ripe. They are marked at top with a small round hole, and pro-tected at bottom by the persistent calyx. The fleshis rather firm, and of a pale green, except in thecentre, where it is purplish. The receptacle is co-lumnar, and slender; and from 6 to 9 bony pale-coloured seeds are fixed round it in a ring, andattached to it a little above the base. This species isa native of the north of Europe , generally in elevatedsituations, both on dry and barren, and on moorish orboggy, soils. It is found in moors, from the Baltic tothe Eastern Ocean, in Kamtschatka , and in the islandstowards America. According to Linnaeus , it will fiveon the mountains of Lapland , where other plantsperish with cold. It is found in Warwickshire, Staf-fordshire, Derbyshire , and the northern counties ofEngland, and abundantly in Scotland . The ScotchHighlanders and the Russian peasants eat the berries,which are esteemed antiscorbutic and diuretic. Grouse and heathcocksfeed on them; and, boiled in alum water, they afford a dark purple dye.Linnaeus mentions that the Laplanders use them for dyeing otter andsable skins black. Cattle do not browse on this shrub. The crowberry isthe badge of the clan M‘Lean. The -E'mpetrum nigrum thrives very well ingardens, but it requires a moist boggy soil, and a shady situation. The seedsremain a year in the ground before they vegetate, and the plants are veryslow in their growth. {Mart. Mill., and Hook. Brit. FI.)

«- 2. E. ru'brum L. The red -fruited Crowberry.tdntfflcatfm. Willd. Sp. PI., 4 p. 713.; Lindl. Bot. Reg., 1.1783.

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