Corema conradii

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamilia: Ericoideae
Tribus: Empetreae
Genus: Corema
Species: Corema conradii
Name

Corema conradii (Torr.) Torr.. 1842
Synonyms

Colema arenaria Rafin.
Empetrum conradii Torr.
Endammia ericoides Rafin.
Oakesia conradii (Torr.) Tuckerm.
Tuckermannia conradii (Torr.) Klotzsch

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental:Northern America
USA (Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York), Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Isl., Quebec)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Torrey, J., 1842. Encyclopaedia of Trees and Shrubs 1092.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Corema conradii. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Apr 27. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Corema conradii in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Apr 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Corema conradii. Published online. Accessed: Apr 27 2020. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2020. Corema conradii. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 27 Apr 2020.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Corema conradii in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Broom crowberry

Corema conradii is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common name broom crowberry. It is native to eastern North America, where it has a disjunct distribution, occurring intermittently from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts, in the Shawangunk Mountains of New York, and in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.[3] Studies indicate that the plant might be a hybrid between ancestral populations of Corema album and Ceratiola.[4]
Description

This plant, one of only two species in genus Corema,[3] is a small perennial[5] shrub or subshrub. It branches to about 60 centimeters in maximum height.[6] It is shorter in stature in the southern part of its range, and sometimes takes a cushionlike form. It may grow colonially, forming a dense stand of up to 100% ground-cover.[1] It has gray or reddish orange, shreddy bark. The yellow-green leaves are linear in shape and needlelike. They are up to 6 millimeters long but less than a millimeter wide. The herbage is aromatic. The species is dioecious, with male and female reproductive parts occurring on separate individuals. The tiny sepals are reddish or purplish.[6] Flowering generally starts in March.[1] The fruit is a gray drupe under two millimeters wide.[6]
Ecology

This plant grows on the coastal plain, often on very sandy soils.[3] In Maine, it is associated with Empetrum nigrum, Pinus rigida, and small oaks. In Massachusetts, it can be found with P. rigida, Betula populifolia, Vaccinium vacillans, and Comptonia peregrina. It is a dominant species on Nantucket and Cape Cod, forming a heathland.[1] It is a fire-adapted species,[7] growing in openings in the forest which are created by fire burning away the canopy. It is adapted to disturbance and grows on disturbed soils and recent burns. It grows on pine barrens, which have a regime of frequent fires. High levels of seedling recruitment are experienced in areas recently burned.[1][7] In June 2001, an F-16 practicing bombing at the Warren Grove, New Jersey range missed its target and started a fire[8] that burned patches of C. conradii where no seedlings had been seen since observations began in 1996. After the fire, which killed the adult plants, many seedlings emerged over the next two years; unburned C. conradii stands nearby did not develop seedlings.[7] Areas in Nantucket which have been grazed heavily, burned, and exposed to harsh conditions have wide stands of the plant. It may act as a pioneer species, taking hold on recently cleared soil. The fruits are collected by the ant species Aphaenogaster rudis, which may aid in seed dispersal.[1]
References

Corema conradii. The Nature Conservancy.
"The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
Corema conradii. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
de Oliveira, Dale, Pedro Brás, Adam. "Corema album (L.) D. Don, the white crowberry – a new crop". IOS Press. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
"Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
Corema conradii. Flora of North America.
Martine, C. T., et al. (2005). The biology of Corema conradii: Natural history, reproduction, and observations of a post-fire seedling recruitment. Northeastern Naturalist 12(3) 267-86.
"Tensions smolder between military, neighbors". Associated Press. 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2012-02-25.