EMPETRACEAE. A natural order of Heath-like evergreen shrubs. Flowers small, solitary or clustered, axillary or terminal, regular, polygamous, bracteolate or not. Fruit fleshy. Leaves alternate, exstipulate. The distribution of the order is North temperate and Arctic zones, Chili, and Fuegia. There are only four species. The order is represented in Britain by Empetrum nigrum, the fruit of which is eaten in some countries. The three genera are: Ceratiola, Corema, and Empetrum.