Blackberry
Also called crowberry or black crowberry
- Iñupiaq name: Paunġak, Paunġaq, Pauġat, or Pauġak
- Family: Ericaceae
- Scientific name: Empetrum nigrum
- Distinguishing characteristics: short needle-like green leaves turn red in fall. Small, purple-brown flowers produce a large purplish-black berry. Plant up to 6 inches tall.
- Similar species: Blackberry is sometimes confused with lingonberry, bearberry, blueberry, and kinnikinnick because of their similar flowers. To tell the difference, look to the leaves! Blackberry has short, thin, and pointed leaves that almost look like needles. Blackberry may also be confused wit bog rosemary, a poisonous plant, because they have both similar flowers and leaves. To make sure you're not picking bog rosemary, check out the berries. The black berries the plant produces grow without a stem, right up against the branch, which is a very distinctive look. Bog rosemary produces hanging light pink berries.
- Habitat: Wet or boggy tundra, can grow in wet-dry soil.
- Best time to harvest: August and September
- Uses: Berries can be eaten and leaves can be used to ignite fire. This plant is a popular favorite among butterflies and birds!
Photo courtesy of the GVSU Arctic Ecology Program
Photo via Native Plant Trust
Photo by Martin Fowler