Portuguese crowberry

Corema album is a dioecious, perennial shrub with numerous branches, usually between 30–75 mm (1.2–3.0 in) tall, which can reach 1 m (3 ft 3 in) both in stature and width. Male plants are more upright and female have shorter and more procumbent branches. The leaves are in whorls of three or four, with short petioles which tend to lie against the stem. They are 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long x 1 mm (0.039 in) wide and are covered with sessile glands when young. Roots are thick and spreading, similar to other members of the Ericaceae. Despite being dioecious, some plants from the southwest of the Peninsula have some hermaphrodite inflorescences paired with male inflorescences, though the fruits originated by hermaphrodite flowers have a tendency to be underdeveloped. Fruits appear in the middle of the branch as the terminal bud continues to grow. Female flowers are smaller than the male flowers. The fruits are white or pink-white, berry-like drupes, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) in diameter with 2 to 9 pyrenes. Fruits are edible and completely white when ripe, with a hardy skin.The taste is mildly acidic with a lemony flavour. Corema album growth phase occurs from late February to July, with incidence on the late spring. …

Corema album has two subspecies with completely different distributions. C. album subsp. album is common in coastal sandy dunes of the Atlantic Iberia and Aquitaine (Southwestern France), from Galicia and the Cíes Islands in the north, along the whole Portuguese coast and further south, to the Province of Cádiz, Spain. It is particularly common in secondary dunes and dune valleys, where extreme communities often originate. C. album subsp. azoricum inhabits volcanic lava and ash fields and is present on five or six of the nine islands of the Azores at usually low altitudes (below 200 m (660 ft)). There are large populations in the three large dune systems, Aspeillo in Doñana National Park in the south of Spain, then from Sines to Tróia (around the Comporta coast) in southwestern Portugal, and in the Costa de Prata of central-north Portugal, between the Nazaré and Ovar coastline strip. It is particularly abundant in Praia do Pedrógão, Leiria. Disjunct populations exist on cliffs and isolated sand dunes throughout the rest of the range. The bush is a drought-adapted Mediterranean shrub and will tolerate low moisture levels in the soil.

C. album subsp. album grows mainly on sand dunes, but will also inhabit rocky sites and cliffs. It occurs primarily in heathland, dwarf scrub and scrub vegetation of Halimium halimifolium, Cistus libanotis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Lavandula stoechas, Cytisus grandiflorus, Stauracanthus genistoides, Juniperus oxycedrus, Juniperus phoenicea, and is the dominant scrub in some areas along with Pinus pinea.

Corema album has been reported to grow very well near London, England and be hardy in USDA hardiness zone 8. Its natural distribution is mostly within zone 10 and a portion of Zone 9 in the Peninsula, and 11 in the Azores. Seed germination is improved when fruits are ingested by animals. Most seeds need a dormancy period of 1–2 years but this can be avoided by keeping them moist. The plant can be propagated by cuttings.

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