THE CROWBEHUY 231 



on account of the intense, ruby-red colour, which 

 the leaves assume just before they are shed. 



The flowers are fashioned quite like those of the 

 Alpine Heath {Erica carnea). The stamens are horned, 

 and the same mechanism to ensure cross-fertilisation 

 exists as in the Vacciniums described on p. 223. The 

 fruits are berry-like, but botanically of the type 

 termed drupes, with one to five stones, as in the 

 Crowberry, next to be described. Those of the Eed 

 Bearberry are red, while the Alpine Bearberry has 

 black fruits. 



The Crowberry. 



The Crowberry {Empetrum nigrum, Linn., natural 

 order Empetraceee, the Crowberry family) is a low, 

 spreading, heath-like shrub, rarely more than a foot 

 in height, common in the dwarf thickets of the High 

 Alpine regions, and often associated with the Trailing 

 Azalea. There is only one species of this genus, 

 which, however, is very w^idely distributed, occurring 

 in Britain and Northern Europe, and even in the 

 Andes of South America. The plants often reach 

 a considerable age in the Alps, although the stem 

 and the annual rings of growth are very small indeed. 



The branches are closely set with leaves, which 

 are needle-like in shape, and evergreen. The general 

 form of the leaf resembles that of a Heath. The leaf 

 is rolled, so that the edges meet below. The margins 

 are interlocked with hairs, and thus enclose an oval 

 cavity, lined by the lower surface of the leaf on which 



