Empetrum

Extraordinary southern hemisphere heather relative and one we observed in all of its alpine glory in the mountains of Patagonia (see photo) while on the Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy plant tour January 2024.  Growing clear south to Cape Horn, this forms a low mat with insignificant flowers but very significant red fruit if you have a female plant as this is a dioecious species with plants being either male or female but both are needed for fruit. The plants we offer are cutting-grown from a single clone whose sex it has not yet shared with us  Once it does, we will work on getting the opposite sex going!  Fruit is gorgeous and edible.  This is plant for cooler climates and not for warm humidity.