Corema album
Portuguese Crowberry
a perennial woody evergreen member of the Corema genus in the family Empetraceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Empetraceae
- Genus
- Corema
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Woodiness
- woody
- Height
- 0.3 m
- Fertility
- self sterile
- Flower type
- dioecious
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Fruit - raw or cooked[3].
- Plant part
- Fruit
Environment
- Range
- S. W. Europe - Portugal and Spain.
- Habitat
- Maritime sands and dunes on the Atlantic littoral.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- very acid, acid
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 5 months warm stratification followed by 3 months at 5°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, November in a frame.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires a light or medium lime-free soil[1][2], succeeding in full sun or light shade[2]. Plants are growing very well in a sandy peat in a garden near London[1]. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[3]. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed and fruit is required[2].
References
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5