CROWBERRY

crowberry, or crakeberry, the english name for a low-growing heath-like shrub, found on heaths and rocks in scotland, ireland and mountainous parts of england. it is known botanically as _empetrum nigrum_, and has slender, wiry, spreading branches covered with short, narrow, stiff leaves, the margins of which are recurved so as to form a hollow cylinder concealing the hairy under face of the leaf--a device to avoid excessive loss of water from the leaf under the exposed conditions in which the plant grows. the minute flowers are succeeded by black, edible, berry-like fruits, one-fourth to one-third of an inch in diameter. the plant has a wide distribution, occurring in suitable localities throughout the north temperate zone, and on the andes of south america.